The Book and the 
Land 




New York: EATON & MAINS 
Cincinnati : JENNINGS & GRAHAM 
1904 



juBRftRY «f CONGRESS 
Two nooies Received 
SEP 15 1904 
xyOooyrteht Entry 

u**<<f 3; 

CLASS U xxo. Na 
C©PY B ' 



Copyright, 3904, by 
EATON JffAINS. 



DEDICATION 



I dedicate The Book and the Land to that 
bravest of all Crusaders and Discoverers, Chris- 
topher Columbus, of whom Joaquin Miller wrote 
this immortal verse : 

Behind him lay the gray Azores; 

Behind, the gates of Hercules: 
Before him not a ghost of shores: 

Before him only shoreless seas. 
The good mate said: " Now must we pray, 

For, lo, the very stars are gone. 
Brave Admiral, speak; what shall I say? " 

" Why yes: ' Sail on! sail on! and on! ' " 

" My men grow mutinous day by day; 

My men grow ghastly wan, and weak — " 
The stout mate thought of home ; a spray 

Of salt-wave washed his swarthy cheek. 
" What shall I say, brave Admiral, say, 

If we sight naught but seas at dawn? " 
" Why, you shall say at break of day, 

' Sail on! sail on! and on!"' 



8 DEDICATION 

They sailed and sailed as winds might blow 

Until at last the blanched mate said : 
" Why, now not even God would know 

Should I and all my men fall dead. 
These very winds forget their way, 

For God from these dread seas is gone ; 
Now speak, brave Admiral; speak and say. 

He said, " Sail on! sail on! and on! " 

They sailed. They sailed. Then spoke the mate: 

" This mad sea shows its teeth to-night. 
He curls his lip, he lies in wait 

With lifted teeth as if to bite ! 
Brave Admiral, say but one good word; 

What shall we do when hope is gone? " 
The words leapt as a leaping sword: 

"Sail on! sail on! sail on! and on!" 

Then pale and worn he kept his deck 

And peered through darkness. Ah! that night 
Of all dark nights! And then a speck — 

A light! a light! a light! a light! 
It grew a starlit flag unfurled! 

It grew to be Time's burst of dawn! 
He gained a world ; he gave that 

World its grandest lesson: " On! and on! " 



CONTENTS 



5 . PAGE 

Introduction n 

Chapter 

I. On the Wide, Wide Ocean 17 

II. Madeira, Gibraltar, Algiers 26 

III. Malta, Athens, Corinth 45 

IV. Constantinople, Smyrna, Ephesus 64 

V. Patmos, Rhodes, Cyprus, Beirut 79 

VI. Baalbec and Damascus S3 

VII. For the Sake of Experience. 103 

VIII. Carmel, Nazareth, Galilee, Joppa 10S 

IX. From Joppa to Jerusalem 116 

X. Jerusalem 120 

XI. Jerusalem, Jericho, Jordan, and the Dead Sea 12S 

XII. Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Hebron 135 

XIII. Josiah Morris, my Quaker Friend 143 

XIV. The Donkeys of Jerusalem 152 

XV. My Sunday in Jerusalem 157 

XVI. Walking About Zion 166 

XVII. " Living Water " 170 

XVIII. Egypt, Alexandria, Cairo 179 

XIX. The Ship of the Desert 191 

XX. Naples, Pompeii 196 

XXI. Rome 206 

XXII. The Lands Which Gave Us the Book 222 

XXIII. The Book is to Redeem the Land 228 

XXIV. Homeward Trip 239 

XXV. The Conclusion of the Whole Matter 249 

9 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



R. W. Van Schoick, D.D Frontispiece 

PAGE 

Grosser Kurfiirst 6 

E. K. Warren, W. N. Hartshorn, A. B. McCrillis, 

H. E. Clark 23 * 

Funchal Landing Place. Funchal, from the West 27 

Algiers. — Facing the Quay 42 

Athens. — The Acropolis 51 

Corinth 58 

Constantinople. — Interior of Mosque 68 

View of the Bosporus 72 

Ephesus. — Aqueduct and Castle. Gate to Persecution. 

St. Lucas's Tomb. General View from St. John's 

Church 74 / 

Beirut. — View from American College 84 

Map of Palestine 86 '- 

The Great Stone 91 

Damascus. — Entrance to " The Street which is called 

Straight" 96. 

Mount Carmel 108 

Nazareth, from the Road to Cana no 

Tiberias 112- 

On the Road to Jerusalem 116 

Samaria Camping Party . 132 

Josiah Morris 142 

Mosque of Omar 148 

Map of Valley of the Nile 181 

Cairo. — Mosque of Mohammed Ali, or Alabaster 

Mosque. Arab Woman. Ezbekiyeh Gardens 186 

Naples.— Strada Del Molo and St. Elmo's Castle. The 

Bay of Naples 197 

Rome. — Ruins of Temple. The Pantheon 207 

Rome. — Plaza of St. Peter's. Vatican Palace 211 

10 



INTRODUCTION 



Two events of my life, both unantici- 
pated, I regard as specially providential. 
The first was a trip to Europe in 1886. The 
Rev. Dr. L. L. Sprague was president of 
Wyoming Seminary. I was presiding elder 
of the Wyoming District, Wyoming Con- 
ference. He was physically indisposed, and 
his physician ordered him to take an ocean 
voyage. Some of my friends of Kingston, 
my home, and adjacent towns on the district 
placed about $300 in my hands and ordered 
me to go with him. We left New York 
Friday, July 13, on the steamer Nevada, and 
returned to New York August 13, after an 
absence of thirty days. 

We disembarked at Queenstown on our 
outward trip and went through Ireland. We 
visited the Lakes of Killarney, Dublin, Bel- 



12 



INTRODUCTION 



fast, and the Giant's Causeway. Thence 
we went to Glasgow and Edinburgh, Scot- 
land. In the former city we inspected 
Glasgow University ; in the latter its equally 
famous university, Holyrood Palace, John 
Knox's church, Edinburgh Castle, Sir Wal- 
ter Scott's monument, and other objects 
of interest. From Edinburgh we took the 
night line for London, where, after break- 
fast, we visited the British Conference, in 
session in City Road Chapel. Opposite 
is the famous cemetery of Bunhill Fields, 
where Susannah Wesley is buried, mother of 
John and Charles Wesley and seventeen 
other children. Many other notables lie 
here, whom I have not space to men- 
tion. Back of the City Road Chapel lie 
John Wesley, Adam Clarke, and Jabez 
Bunting. Near the chapel is Wesley's 
famous parsonage. The Tower, British 
Museum, Westminster Abbey, Houses of 
Parliament, and St. Paul's Cathedral were 
all visited. 



INTRODUCTION 



L3 



Sunday morning we heard Charles H. 
Spurgeon in his own Tabernacle. In the 
afternoon we listened to Canon Liddon in 
St. Pauls Cathedral. Both sermons were 
in the best mood of those marvelous 
preachers. 

We also visited Windsor Castle, the 
famous Eton school, and Paris, returning 
by way of Liverpool, where we embarked 
for home on the City of Rome. 

Please note that, going, we sailed on 
Friday, the thirteenth. In my case the 
day and date were not unlucky, as the 
superstitious might have feared. I learned 
more from that thirty days' trip than ever 
before in the same length of time. 

The second event is even greater. On 
the eighth of March, 1904, the Grosser 
Kurfurst, of the North German Lloyd Line 
of steamers, sailed from New York for a 
seventy days' trip to Jerusalem. In this 
event a friend said, " I want you to take 
that trip," and, suiting the wish to the 



14 



INTRODUCTION 



word, gave me the money to pay all ex- 
penses. 

Could anything be more providential? 
To see the Holy Land, and visit the places 
where our Saviour had walked, worked, 
suffered, and died, had been the dream of my 
life; but never had it occurred to me that 
the dream would be fulfilled. My state- 
room was quickly secured for $550, to cover 
all cost of transportation by steamer and 
other conveyances, board, and all hotels, 
guides, etc., etc. The passport, $2, and 
chair, $1.50, made the total $553.50. 

When I came to fully realize that I was 
to be one of the pilgrims on that greatest 
cruise in all history, and that the objective 
point of the enterprise was the World's 
Fourth vSunday School Convention, to be 
held in Jerusalem, April 17, 18, 19, I deter- 
mined to show my appreciation of my 
friend's generosity by writing a faithful 
chronicle of the best I might learn concern- 
ing the Book and the Land which is a con- 



INTRODUCTION 



15 



stant testimony to the Book. Palestine, 
Jerusalem never would have been heard of 
had it not been for the Book. 

When Sir Walter Scott was dying he 
called for a book. "What book?" said an 
attendant. " Man, " said Sir Walter, "there 
is but one Book — the Bible; bring it to 
me." May my readers find it so in larger 
measure than ever as they read my con- 
tribution to the unfolding of its sacred 
truths in The Book and the Land. 



THE BOOK AND THE LAND 



CHAPTER I 

On the Wide, Wide Ocean 

One who has never sailed the seas has no 
conception of the vastness of those illimit- 
able waters we call oceans. Fully eight 
days of twenty-three and a half hours each 
were we sailing from New York to Madeira, 
our first landing. It is 2,750 miles from 
New York. Day after day it is just the 
same story, "Water, water everywhere," 
The standard joke, "We are near land," 
with the question, "Where?" evoking the 
exasperating reply, " Only three miles to the 
bottom," does not relieve the feeling the 
psalmist must have had when he said "this 
great wide sea!" No wonder poets have 
sung of the sea! No wonder all literature 

abounds with stories of the sea and art 
2 



18 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 

reaches its climaxes in picturing the laugh- 
ing waves transfigured with the glory of 
the sun and reflecting all the beauty and 
grandeur of earth and sky! 

If the sea be the greatest of wonders 
what shall be said of those mighty ships 
which sail its waters? They are now so 
well equipped that it seems invidious to 
select one as more complete than others in 
its construction and in its appointments, 
but the Grosser Kurfurst, of the North Ger- 
man Lloyd Line of Atlantic steamers, well 
deserves a first place among the world's 
greatest ships. It rides the waves like 
Neptune's queen; and our delegates, 811 
strong, with officers and crew of 365 more, 
have a perfect sense of security and com- 
fort, by day and by night, in the con- 
viction that, under a Providence propitious, 
this . ship will bring us "to the desired 
haven. " The reader will form some idea of 
its magnitude from this official statement 
of facts: Gross tonnage, 13,182; length, 



ON THE WIDE, WIDE OCEAN 19 

582 feet; width, 63 feet; draught, 36 feet; 
crew, 365; horse power, 9,700. Supplies 
loaded at New York: Meat, 87,296 pounds; 
poultry, 22,900 pounds; flour, 95,000 
pounds; potatoes, 143,887 pounds; eggs, 
57,000; citrons, 35,780; sugar, 23,038 
pounds; coffee, 7,340 pounds; fish, 17,521 
pounds; vegetables, 38,190 pounds; milk, 
9,262 gallons; butter, 31,215 pounds; 
oranges, 40,250; ice, 135 tons; tea, 735 
pounds; coal, 3,906 tons; dried fruit, 
8,866 pounds; fresh fruits, 18,050 pounds; 
mineral waters, 50,228 bottles, and other 
supplies to be taken on at other ports. It 
requires 162 tons of coal daily to feed the 
36 fires for the main and auxiliary engines 
and to run the dynamo furnishing 1,000 
incandescent lights. The ship is four years 
old — a veritable floating palace — one of the 
largest ships afloat. 

The stateroom assigned me was No. 628, 
with two lower berths and one upper. The 
upper one, "B," was given to Rev. S. A. 



20 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 

Fraser, superintendent of a large Presby- 
terian mission in Trinidad, British West 
Indies. The berth below it, "A," is occu- 
pied by Rev. W. Scott Whittier, D.D., 
pastor of Greyfriars Presbyterian Church, 
Trinidad. The opposite lower berth is 
mine, lettered " C." It is wide, and noth- 
ing between it and the ceiling of the state- 
room. We are all good travelers, un- 
troubled by seasickness, and so far we have 
not missed a meal. We joke each other 
occasionally about our denominationalism ; 
but as all things are foreordained, accord- 
ing to their creed, and we Methodists have 
the right to choose the best on sea and land, 
I have chosen them to be good fellows to 
room with on a ship. So our Calvinism 
and Arminianism combine beautifully, and 
stateroom No. 628 is doing its full part to 
hasten the millennium. 

I am also specially favored in my com- 
panions at table. Taking their names in 
order as we sit at meals, there are Mr. and 



ON THE WIDE, WIDE OCEAN 21 

Mrs. J. A. Stevenson, of London, Canada; 
their niece, Miss Davida Stafford, of St. 
Mary's, Canada; Rev. William H. Medlar, 
Congregational pastor, York, Neb. ; Mrs. W. 
H. Medlar; C. C. Cobb and wife, York, Neb. ; 
Rev, J.W. L. Forster, Toronto, Canada; Miss 
Alice E. Webster, Kentville, Nova Scotia. 
I meet Dr. J. G. Greenamyer, of Niles, and 
C. H. Wheelock, of Battle Creek, Mich., in 
daily companionship. The latter is one of 
the most useful men on the ship. 

The waiters — as all the crew, from cap- 
tain down to the lowest in the ranks — are 
polite and courteous, and the whole service 
is of a kind to make us feel what the crew 
says of us is true — that we are the nicest 
company that ever sailed on the Grosser 
Kurfurst. If they speak so nicely of us 
why shouldn't I say pretty things of them? 
It is an exceedingly back-number fashion 
to reserve flowers until those to whom we 
wish to bring them are dead. I must speak 
in this connection of the executive commit- 



22 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 

tee, composed of Mr. E. K. Warren, of Three 
Oaks, Mich., chairman; W. J. Semelroth, 
St. Louis, Mo., secretary; Mr. W. N. Harts- 
horn, of Boston, treasurer; and Mr. A. B. 
McCrillis, Providence, R. I. Although men 
of large business interests, they find time and 
money to devote unstintedly to Sunday 
school work. Were we to search the world 
over it would be impossible to find men 
more admirably qualified to project and 
carry forward successfully an undertaking 
on so immense a scale as this pilgrimage to 
Jerusalem. Mr. H. E. Clark, of New York 
city, who personally conducts the trip, is a 
veteran at the business, and, from A to Z, 
everything has been planned to make this 
cruise most delightful. 

In the 2,750 miles from New York to 
Madeira we have had sermons, lectures, 
and music of a high character. Dr. John 
Potts, of Toronto, Canada, preached Sunday 
morning, March 13, and F. H. Jacobs, 
musical leader, a characteristic sermon in 



ON THE WIDE, WIDE OCEAN 25 



the evening. In the afternoon a Sunday 
school was held, a prelude to the coming 
Sunday school convention in Jerusalem. 
Marion Lawrence, of Toledo, 0., was super- 
intendent. D. B. Purinton, president of 
West Virginia University, led the large 
Bible class to which I belonged. Total 
attendance, 522; collection, $100. 

Rev. Dr. H. H. Jessnp, a missionary in 
Beirut, Syria, for forty-nine years, lectured 
interestingly on "Hints for Travelers" and 
"Woman in Mohammedan Countries." The 
finest lecture to which we listened was on 
"Photography," by Rev. Dr. Nutting, of 
Providence, R. I. Every sentence was a 
gem. 



26 



THE BOOK AND THE LAND 



CHAPTER II 
Madeira, Gibraltar, Algiers 

Well does the poet tell us that "things 
seen are mightier than things heard." I 
had heard of Madeira as " the gem of the 
Portuguese crown," but of its exquisite 
beauty I had no conception until I saw it. 
When our ship landed there, on the morning 
of March 16, and we saw the city rising 
before us, terrace on terrace, from the shore, 
up the mountain nearly three thousand 
feet, we could scarcely make ourselves 
believe that it was not such a city as John 
saw "coming down from God out of 
heaven," so beautiful was it in the light of 
that golden morning, as the rays of the sun 
clothed it with more than material light. 

But, alas! "things are not what they 
seem." When we went ashore and came 
in contact with the people — there are 30,000 



MADEIRA, GIBRALTAR, ALGIERS 29 

in all — we concluded that "beauty of situ- 
ation" and even beautiful buildings do not 
constitute a city, but its spirit, its enter- 
prise, its art, its morals, its religious life — 
in short, its civilization — determine its 
rank and place among cities. 

The streets, narrow and crooked, and 
paved with small cobblestones over which 
passengers are drawn by oxen driven by 
men and boys who keep up an incessant 
cudgeling of the poor creatures, accom- 
panied with a "zoa" and "whoa" more 
like bedlam than anything else. The car- 
riage is a vehicle on runners. Four persons 
usually are seated in it, and it was an inter- 
esting spectacle to see our delegates going 
and coming with the utmost enjoyment in 
these "carros," as they are called. The 
price per hour for one person is twenty-five 
cents. Donkeys are the beasts of burden. 
Seeing the women washing clothes on the 
stones of the rapidly rushing creek which 
comes down the mountain, and beholding 



30 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 

them bending tinder the heaviest loads, one 
is tempted to call them beasts of burden 
too. 

The Roman Cathedral is the largest 
church edifice in Funchal; fully ninety per 
cent of the population are Catholics. The 
Presbyterians have a mission here of 79 
members, organized in 1840. A meeting 
was held in their church addressed by Dr. 
W. S. Whittier, pastor of the Portuguese 
Presbyterian Church of Trinidad, who gave 
an interesting account of the work in Trin- 
idad and of the Portuguese church in Jack- 
sonville, 111., where members had gone 
from Madeira in 1846, the time of the per- 
secution. Bishop Hartzell, of the Metho- 
dist Episcopal Church, organized a mission 
here in 1898. It has 60 members. Many 
who visited this mission after the general 
reception given us in the theater, and heard 
the testimony of the members, said that 
they had been converted to believe in mis- 
sions, and hereafter would give dollars where 



MADEIRA, GIBRALTAR, ALGIERS 31 

hitherto they had only given pennies to the 
cause. 

The delegates enjoyed a ride up the 
mountain, and then down for two miles on 
the toboggan slide. 

Of all places for beggars this stands first. 
The picture that will remain longest in the 
minds of the delegates is the outstretched 
hand appealing for a ' ' tip. ' ' Though grapes, 
oranges, and other fruit abound here, sugar 
cane and world-noted wines, and the in- 
dustry of all would seem to put a ban on 
begging, yet there it is in full blossom ; and 
the pressure for "tips" is so great that the 
visitor must either give or run. I gave 
until my change was all gone, and then ran 
for the ship. 

As " all the world loves a lover " it will 
interest the reader to learn that here, on 
the island of Madeira, Christopher Colum- 
bus first met the young woman who became 
his wife. Is it too much to believe that she 
had much to do in shaping his subsequent 



32 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 

career ? As a rule men owe their success in 
life to their wives. 

The only uniquely funny scene witnessed 
here was before we left the ship. No sooner 
had we cast anchor than a perfect avalanche 
of small boats poured upon our vessel, and 
in them were men and boys trained to dive 
for shining coins thrown into the water by 
the passengers. Nickels, dimes, quarters 
were all caught by these skillful divers, with 
never a piece sinking to the bottom. As 
soon as the coin struck the water down 
plunged the diver, quickly returning to the 
surface holding it between his toes and then 
transferring it to his palm, which he held 
open, so all could see it. Does the reader 
say, "He had an itching palm"? Are not 
the great mass of people equally greedy and 
venturesome to secure the glittering lucre? 
Do not censure the Madeira diver. He is 
only one of many belonging to the school 
of money-getters. " Get money," said the 
principal of a commercial school in a certain 



MADEIRA, GIBRALTAR, ALGIERS 33 

town to his students, " Get money, young 
gentlemen; honestly, if you can, but get 
money." John Wesley spoke better than 
that when he said, " Get all you can; save 
all you can; give all you can." 

GIBRALTAR 

We left Madeira for Gibraltar at 3 p. m., 
March 17. On our ride we were relatively 
near Trafalgar, where Lord Nelson lost his 
life in the famous sea fight. It was he who 
gave the world the simple words which ring 
down the corridors of time, " England ex- 
pects every man to do his duty." England 
is great in the possession of some of the 
noblest names in history: Nelson, Welling- 
ton, and a long line of mighty men in war and 
peace. We also passed Tarifa. This town 
gave to America the word ''tariff," which 
has held so conspicuous a place in her 
financial economy. 

We landed at Gibraltar about nine o 'clock 

a. m., March 19, and were received with the 
3 



34 ' THE BOOK AND THE LAND 

utmost cordiality. The well-known pic- 
ture of the Rock of Gibraltar has already 
familiarized the reader with its appearance. 
Its grim-visaged front, rising 1,400 feet 
above the sea, with its hinder part resem- 
bling the body of a lion, seems, like that 
monster, to be the sentinel of the doorway to 
the far East through the Mediterranean. 
But to travel the streets and winding roads 
of Gibraltar, up its heights, impresses one 
more and more that it was small wonder 
the Moors, Spaniards, and French have 
struggled so desperately for the possession 
of this Jumbonian stronghold, captured and 
held at last by Great Britain, with her 
intuitive conviction that she, and she alone, 
must be by consent of nations the mistress 
of the sea. 

The most of our party did what I must 
call the fool business of the day. Led, as 
we were, like lambs to the slaughter, going 
up and up, now through tunnels, now 
along roads cut through the rocks, up and 



MADEIRA, GIBRALTAR, ALGIERS 35 



up. to the galleries, expecting to see won- 
ders and wonders, and, lo, the whole per- 
formance was a repetition of the act of the 
general who, with his men, " marched up the 
hill and then marched down again." Our 
shoes were robbed of blacking by the mud, 
our muscles of strength, and in some cases 
the query arose, How shall we ever walk 
back? One lady collapsed, and had to be 
revived by restoratives. Our only con- 
solation was that we had seen the caverns 
and gone over subterranean roads begun by 
the Moors in 1704 and afterward completed 
by the English. When they told us that 
from 6,000 to 10,000 British soldiers are 
garrisoned here the year round we under- 
stood something of the price England pays 
to maintain this stronghold against the 
world. 

Most of us visited the old Spanish town 
of Lienea, two miles from Gibraltar, where 
we saw a typical Spanish city of about 
40.000 population. The streets were filled 



3G THE BOOK AND THE LAND 

with filth, dirty-faced children, dogs, hogs, 
and beggars galore. Returning in com- 
pany with Mr. Wheelock, a lad of ten fol- 
lowed us two miles, asking us almost every 
step of the way to give him an alms. Mr. 
Wheelock said " No," but succumbed when 
he thought of the boy's persistence, re- 
marking, "If he goes to Gibraltar I'll give 
him a penny (two cents) for his perseverance. 
If there is any trait in a boy I admire it is 
persistency." I said, "111 give him an- 
other," and, sure enough, he walked with 
us the whole two miles and was rewarded 
with our " tip" of four cents — a day's 
wages for a boy. Am I a prophet ? Behold 
in this lad the future Pierpont Morgan of 
Spain ! 

All the streets of Gibraltar are winding 
and narrow. The dwellings and business 
houses are solidly built, compact together. 
The soldiers seem greatly to outnumber 
the civilians. We called on the American 
Consul, Mr. Sprague, of Massachusetts, 



MADEIRA, GIBRALTAR, ALGIERS 37 

who extended many courtesies. After our 
visit to Portuguese and Spanish towns we 
felt restored to our own when we stepped on 
the solid streets of an English city, seeing 
everywhere the evidences of British thrift 
and solidity, and, best of all, seeing " Old 
Glory" waving in the breeze. 

As we were starting for our ship we 
learned that the emperor of Germany was 
paying a two days' visit to Gibraltar, but 
we did not see him. 

At 6 p. m. we left Gibraltar, passed the 
Pillars of Hercules, and were sailing the 
Mediterranean. At 1 130 a. m. next day, 
while I was taking my bath, the ship 
anchored in the harbor of Algiers. A few 
hours later we saw street cars displaying 
the glare of electric lights, telling us we 
were under the aegis of France, a nation in 
many respects in the van of civilization. 

After breakfasting on board the entire 
delegation, 811 strong, were quickly in car- 
riages and driving about the city. Few will 



38 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 

ever forget that ride of three hours, not less 
than ten miles, through the public gardens, 
the old towns and the new, seeing every 
variety of fauna and flora, and orange, 
lemon, banana, palm, olive trees, etc., etc. 
It was a bewilderment of beauty every- 
where. The dwelling houses and public 
buildings give evidence of Moorish archi- 
tecture, a few of modern date. All the 
luxury of tropical climes was apparent in 
the vegetation, and those who did not ex- 
pect to see anything like marked floriculture 
in Africa could scarcely credit their eyes. 
In our long drive we passed the most beau- 
tiful gardens and vineyards which must 
munificently reward the toil of the hus- 
bandman. It is the same story in all 
lands: "The hand of the diligent maketh 
rich." 

The streets greatly resemble those of 
Paris, which I had seen in 1886. The babel 
of tongues kept us in a constant strain to 
understand, and those of our party who 



MADEIRA, GIBRALTAR, ALGIERS 39 

could not speak or understand French, 
Arabic, etc., quickly resigned themselves 
to the bliss of ignorance. In two or three 
instances by motion of lips and hands, and 
even feet, I tried to make myself under- 
stood, but it was useless, and, like many 
others, I resigned myself to my environ- 
ments. 

The post office, telegraph office, and sou- 
venir stores were the principal places 
visited, and for more than an hour the trade 
in stamps, postal cards, etc., seemed large 
enough to make a country post office green 
with envy. Cablegrams were sent as well 
as letters ; for had we not been absent from 
home a fortnight ? and we knew loved ones 
would be anxious to hear from us. Several 
asked me to assist in phrasing their dis- 
patches to reduce them to the absolute 
minimum of words; for every word had to 
be paid for, including the address and the 
sender's signature. A man whose name was 
George Thomas asked me to condense his 



40 



THE BOOK AND THE LAND 



message, and this he sent: "Thomas, , 

West Virginia. All right. George." For 
those few words he paid two dollars and for- 
ty cents. And yet who shall say it was too 
much, considering how great a world of mean- 
ing was conveyed in the last three words 
— particularly what the word "George" 
meant to that loving wife thousands of miles 
away! Marvelous, indeed, is the science 
which enables us to communicate our 
thoughts of love and interest to the utter- 
most parts of the earth! Forever honored 
be the names of Samuel F. B. Morse and 
Cyrus W. Field! 

Our drive to the Arab quarters, where 
poverty, disease, imbecility, and squalor 
were much in evidence to our optical and 
olfactory senses, showed us how wide is the 
gulf which separates our Christian, Bible- 
loving America from this country, where 
the inspired word of God is scarcely seen 
or read. Algiers has a population of about 
95,000, and from its pure white marble ap- 



MADEIRA, GIBRALTAR, ALGIERS 43 

pearance is called the "city in white," also 
"a diamond set in emerald." It is a fa- 
mous health resort. It was founded by the 
Arabs, fought for by the Moors and French, 
and is now in possession of the latter. For 
more than three hundred years it was the 
stronghold of pirates whose deeds of plun- 
der and murder fill many a dark page in 
history. They were finally driven out of 
their hiding places by the French, who lit- 
erally smoked them out of their caves and 
retreats. The city has two parts, French 
and Moorish, and the distinction between 
them is readily seen in the difference both 
in the people and the architecture of the old 
and new towns. Our visit to Algiers 
richly repaid us in giving us new concep- 
tions of the status and possibilities of 
Africa. 

Leaving Algiers, we passed many places 
of historic interest, the most noted of which 
was the site of ancient Carthage — modern 
Tunis — made famous as the home of Han- 



44 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 

nibal, who started from there for Rome and 
the Punic Wars. Here, too, Constantine 
left the impress of his progressive and valor- 
ous spirit. Also while sailing the waters of 
the blue Mediterranean I could not forget 
that on its shores one of the world's martyr 
heroes passed through his Gethsemane of 
agony and despair. He gained a crown of 
immortality by giving to the world one of 
the wonderful poems of the nineteenth cen- 
tury, "Abide with me! Fast falls the even- 
tide." Before sailing his last voyage, filled 
with a sense of uttermost failure in life, 
discouraged, and longing for death, which 
came all too quickly, Henry F. Lyte 
wrote those words. Rev. Dr. John Potts 
was pastor of the Metropolitan Methodist 
Church of Toronto, Canada, at the time, 
and as soon as the hymn reached that city 
the organist of that church set it to music 
and dedicated it to Dr. Potts. Dr. Potts is 
to be our preacher on Mars' Hill next Sun- 
day, March 27. 



MALTA, ATHENS, CORINTH 



45 



CHAPTER III 

Malta, Athens, Corinth 

I come now to the first places in our trip 
forever associated with the Book of books. 
We arrived at Malta at six o'clock this 
morning, March 23. This date has a sad 
interest to me, for two years ago she who 
had been the companion of my ministry, 
the joy of my heart, for more than thirty 
years, sweetly passed from us to her home 
in heaven. It all came so suddenly, and 
such was the nature of her disease, that she 
could not leave us a dying testimony ; and 
I am glad she did not. I care not for dying 
testimonies. They count for little or noth- 
ing. It is the living testimony we want. 
If ever a person has a high seat in heaven 
it is my Mary, whose spirit was ever over- 
flowing with the love and gentleness of 
Jesus Christ, whose only aim and endeavor 



4G THE BOOK AND THE LAND 



were to make bright and beautiful all lives 
with which she came in touch in the home, 
the social gathering, and the church. Those 
who heard her sing can never forget the 
liquid smoothness and sweetness of her 
voice. The angels envied us, and God lis- 
tened to their asking and gave her a place 
in the choir of the Holy City. She loved 
birds and flowers and little children and all 
beautiful things, and she has them all there ! 

Malta belongs to Great Britain. It is 
about ten miles wide by twenty long and has 
a population of 150,000. Its capital, Va- 
letta, has 70,000 inhabitants. Its ancient 
capital was Civita Vecchia. Monuments 
of Roman rule are still there. Parts of the 
town date their beginnings to 2,500 years 
ago. Near here is St. Paul's Bay, where he 
was shipwrecked. We drove to his monu- 
ment — that is, as near as we could — and saw 
the little church which marks the place 
where he spent three days. We saw here, 
in this ancient capital, the cathedral built 



MALTA, ATHENS, CORINTH 47 

on the site of the house of Publius, who 
entertained Paul. 

The whole island is a strongly fortified 
garrison — the key of British defense of its 
possessions from incursions from the East. 
But garrisoned or not, and with all its mar- 
velous history of the Knights of Malta, Paul 
and Paul alone gives to Malta its name and 
fame. The story in Acts is corroborated by 
all the traditions of Malta, and there are 
abundant evidences in the numerous mon- 
uments on the island that not one word re- 
corded there is a " cunningly devised fable. " 

In leaving Malta for Athens our captain 
guided the ship several miles out of her 
course to give the delegates a new view of 
St. Paul's Bay and his statue, standing on a 
small island marking the place where two 
seas meet . So thrilling were all the thoughts 
crowding the mind that it seemed as if Paul 
were again on earth revisiting the scenes 
which his life and deeds had made so sacred. 

Our ride to Athens will occupy two 



48 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 

nights and one whole day, as we are 
"booked" to be there at 6 a. m., Friday, 
March 25. The Grosser Kurfilrst has a 
wonderful record for punctuality, never 
failing to be on time in its scheduled course 
of thousands of miles. 

The weather to date has been exception- 
ally beautiful, making our landings free 
from storms and rough seas. He who 
rules the waves has been propitious. Kind 
heavens have bent over us, and the charms 
of sky and atmosphere have contributed 
greatly to the delight of our voyage. Of 
course every day some one on board pre- 
dicts storms and a terrible shaking up, but 
this weather disappoints them, and our ship 
sails on. And so it is with our good ship 
Zion, with the Book for chart and compass. 
How many, even in my day, have proph- 
esied evil of it, and that it would surely 
be wrecked by the floods of adverse criti- 
cism and all the terrific bombardments of 
its enemies! but it is a mighty battleship 



MALTA, ATHENS, CORINTH 49 

and palatial ocean liner in one, and it sails 
all seas and never strikes a rock and never 
disappoints those who trust her and her 
infallible Captain. He always brings the 
ship's company safely into "the desired 
haven. " O, ye prophets of evil, stop croak- 
ing; confess that you are not inspired in 
your assaults on our ship, and that really 
you do not know what you are talking 
about. Get on board, and listen to the 
music and ride the waves with us. " We 
are journeying into the land of which the 
Lord said, I will give it you; come with us, 
and we will do you good, for the Lord hath 
spoken good concerning Israel." 

Our landing place for Athens was Piraeus, 
where we dropped anchor on time, at 6 
a. m., Friday, March 25. At nine we 
boarded the train for Athens, where car- 
riages were in waiting to convey us to 
Mars' Hill and the Acropolis. It would be 
impossible to describe our emotions as we 

stood on Mars' Hill, where Paul gave that 
4 



50 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 



wonderful address to the Athenians re- 
corded in Acts xvii, beginning with the 
twenty-second verse. Imagine, if you can, 
the speaker and his audience. He a man 
of widest scholarship, and they, to the last 
of them, familiar with questions old and 
new, accustomed to keenest disputation and 
matchless arguments, listening to the great- 
est sermon in history save the Sermon of 
our Lord on the Mount. It was most fitting 
that our committee provided, in their pro- 
gram for next Sunday's service on Mars 'Hill, 
that all the pastors on the Grosser Kurf first 
should recite Paul's sermon in concert. 

We went from Mars' Hill to the Par- 
thenon, where we spent hours contem- 
plating the miracles in marble which have 
been the wonder and admiration of archi- 
tects and sculptors for centuries ; for is not 
the world in all the nations of earth em- 
ploying the unsurpassable Doric and Ionic 
beauty of the Parthenon? Here Solon, 
Plato, Socrates, Demosthenes, Pericles, and 



MALTA, ATHENS, CORINTH 53 

many others who live in history achieved 
their fame. Here we saw the forum of 
Demosthenes; the prison where Socrates 
drank the hemlock and died; here, too, the 
lantern with which Diogenes went through 
the streets in broad daylight searching for a 
man; and here, to show his contempt for 
many things men are greedy to possess, he 
said, when asked what favor should be 
shown him, " I want no favor but that you 
will stand aside and let the sun shine on me. 
Well for us all could we learn the great 
lesson of Paul: " I have learned in what- 
soever state I am therewith to be content." 

" Man wants but little here below, 
Nor wants that little long." 

It was in a bazaar of Athens that one 
of her great philosophers said : " How many 
things there are here that I do not want." 

In the museum we saw specimens of the 
best sculpture of Greece; but not one piece 
of statuary did I see in perfect preservation. 
All were more or less discolored, bruised, 



54 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 



broken. All efforts toward rehabilitation 
and restoration had proven ineffectual to 
renew in them their pristine loveliness. 
The glorious temples, all works of art most 
beautiful, were mockeries of their former 
beauty and glory. An Athenian gentleman 
has given one million dollars to restore some 
of the magnificence of the Parthenon; but 
I venture to say that the effort will be like 
converting an old building into a new one — 
something which never yet has proven a 
success. When I heard the sermon of Dr. 
Potts, Sunday, March 27, on Mars' Hill, the 
conviction came upon me as never before 
that what the world needs is not so much 
the beautiful in art as the beautiful in char- 
acter; not great buildings, great monu- 
ments, but great men and women adorned 
with all the graces of likeness to Jesus 
Christ, the " meek and lowly in heart." 

" Paul departed from Athens and came 
to Corinth." Sixteen of our company 
decided to follow his example, though it 



MALTA, ATHENS, CORINTH 55 

was not in our itinerary. Many tried to 
discourage us but to all opposition we 
turned a deaf ear, and I must say our day's 
outing proved the climax of enjoyment for 
our cruise to date. 

At Piraeus I visited the home of Mr. 
George Cotsonis, a wealthy contractor and 
builder to whom I bore a letter of intro- 
duction from his nephew in Coldwater, Mr. 
Nicholas Cotsonis. After reading the letter 
he took the greatest possible interest in me. 
Our interpreter said, " He is very fond of 
you. He wants you to be his priest. He 
says if you will be his priest you shall have 
all the money you want so long as you shall 
live." I thanked him, but courteously 
informed him that I could not think of 
leaving my church or country at my age. 
He lived in a marble house, and owned the 
marble house next to it, and also one in 
Athens. He is about forty-five years of 
age; his wife is an accomplished portrait 
painter and does the most exquisite work 



56 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 

in home decorations. Both are admirable 
entertainers. 

Leaving Piraeus, sixty miles from Corinth, 
at 6:10 a. m. on Saturday, March 26, we 
passed some of the noted places mentioned 
in Greek classical history. First came 
Eleusis, town and bay, around which were 
held the mysteries which have been the 
enigma of centuries; then we came to 
Megara, on the shore of Salamis Bay, where 
the Greeks and Persians fought the noted 
sea fight of ancient history. Opposite the 
bay we saw Mount ^Egaleus, where Xerxes 
sat on his throne and watched the struggle 
expecting to see the Persians win an easy 
victory ; but the cunning Greeks, under the 
great Themistocles, turned the power of 
Persia on the water, as at Marathon its 
power on the land had been turned, into the 
complete triumph of Greece over Persian 
domination. We also passed near Phylae, 
with its so famous fortress. 

Not far from Corinth our train crossed 



MALTA, ATHENS, CORINTH 59 

the new ship canal which cuts the Isthmus 
of Corinth, only recently dug. It is about 
three miles in length, and from its impor- 
tance is considered a great piece of engi- 
neering- - as much so for little Greece to 
accomplish as will be our Panama Canal 
for the United States. How I rejoice that 
there is a spirit in America which makes for 
progress, and hesitates at nothing which 
puts the prestige of the United States on the 
highest pedestal of achievement. That is 
the spirit which makes an American travel- 
ing abroad feel proud of Old Glory when he 
sees it waving among the flags of all nations, 
the prettiest and grandest of them all! 

On reaching Corinth we drove in carriages 
three quarters of an hour, to the foot of 
Acrocorinthus, where we saw the ruins of 
the temple of Minerva built seven hundred 
years before Christ; said to be the oldest 
ruin in Greece. Seven columns or pillars 
with their capitals remain in a good state of 
preservation. Near this temple was the 



60 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 

floor of the market where Paul disputed 
with the Corinthians, and we also saw the 
stone marking the place of the synagogue, 
and the house of Justus, near by, where 
Paul spent a year and six months. Horses 
and mules, saddled, and each furnished 
with a driver, were waiting to carry us two 
and a half miles up the mountain. Forget- 
ful of the fact that my arms were unequal 
to horseback riding, I was assisted into the 
saddle of a strange horse, to be led by a 
strange driver, to go over a strange moun- 
tain path which seemed to hang over most 
dangerous precipices. But I was in for it, 
and away we went, single file, up and up 
the winding path which more and more im- 
pressed me as being too perilously near the 
precipice. I repeatedly urged my driver 
to keep my horse nearer the inside, and not 
so perilously close to the outside of the 
path, knowing all the time that he could 
not understand one word I said. But all 
things have an end, and we reached 



MALTA, ATHENS, CORINTH CI 

the place where we must make the rest of 
the ascent on foot. Wasn't I glad! But 
my rejoicing was quickly changed to alarm 
when the third man ahead of me leaped 
from his saddle, and his horse, with a sense 
of freedom, turned to run down the path 
and coming to my horse began to bite it, 
and then both began a genuine scrap of 
biting and kicking as if they had all the 
room in the world for their circus, and quite 
failing to comprehend — what I, alas, fully 
comprehended — that I was high up in that 
saddle and had not enough strength in my 
arms to get off, and if their fight ended in a 
promiscuous tumble down the precipice, I 
never should be able to finish the chapters 
of The Book and the Land. But my state- 
room companions, seeing my peril, caught 
me quickly and lifted me bodily from the 
saddle to terra firma. 

Does anyone imagine that I had the most 
distant thought of ever mounting that horse 
again? Was the value of our good Grosser 



62 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 

Kurf first, between two million and three 
million dollars, price enough to tempt me 
to ride that horse down the mountain? It 
suddenly dawned upon me that my ride up 
the mountain had developed me into a 
champion pedestrian. Why should I wish 
to ride ? What were legs and feet for ? Why 
were one's pedal extremities debased to 
mere ornamentation, when designed for the 
noble uses of walking? Didn't Paul walk 
when he came to Corinth? Such reflec- 
tions made me resolve not to do any more 
horseback riding during my trip to Jeru- 
salem. How much farther was it to the 
summit? Some said a mile and a half; 
others, two miles. But I was equal to it, 
and at last stood on the top of Acrocorinthus. 
And were we not well repaid! It is said 
that only one other view in the world com- 
pares with it — the view from Mount Rigi, 
Switzerland. Two thousand feet below us the 
beautiful bay of Corinth, the bay of Eleusis, 
Eleusis itself, Athens, with its Parthenon 



MALTA, ATHENS, CORINTH 63 

and other temples, sixty miles distant, and 
then, still more distant, the great Parnas- 
sus and other mountains mentioned in 
classic story. What a place was this, where 
I stood, to be crowned with the temple of 
Venus! Yes; near me were the ruins of 
that most noted of all temples, where the 
treasures of Attica were said to have been 
stored and the highest forms of Greek wor- 
ship were observed. Returning to the 
plain below, surely my eyes had seen 
enough to recall Shakespeare 's words : 

" Like the baseless fabric of this vision, 
The cloud-capped towers, the gorgeous palaces, 
The solemn temples, the great globe itself, 
Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve, 
And, like this insubstantial pageant faded. 
Leave not a rack behind 

We reached our ship at 8:30 in the even- 
ing better prepared for the wonderful serv- 
ice on Mars' Hill the next day. Could our 
leaving of Athens have been calculated more 
wisely to flood our memories with inspired 
recollections of Greece! 



64 



THE BOOK AND THE LAND 



CHAPTER IV 
Constantinople, Smyrna, Ephestts 

We left Piraeus, Athens, March 27, 3 p. m., 
and arrived at Constantinople March 28, 
6 p. m. The weather was very fine, so our 
opportunities for sightseeing were the best. 
We had a good view of the site of old Troy, 
the place itself gone forever. At the Dar- 
danelles we received the Turkish officer on 
board. All ships halt here and cannot pass 
without the consent of this officer. The for- 
tifications make it the second strongest posi- 
tion in the world; Gibraltar standing first. 

Our good ship and those in it were " all 
right," and we proceeded on our voyage. 
Coming into the harbor of Constantinople, 
among the finest in the world, we had a 
good view of the city, as it stands on several 
hills, Stamboul, Galata, Scutari. We were 
not dazzled with admiration, as when we 



CONSTANTINOPLE, ETC. 65 

saw Madeira, but its vastness made up for 
its lack of beauty. The American Consul, 
Mr. Dickinson, of New York, came on board 
and presided at a meeting addressed by 
Prof. Van Milligen, on Constantinople. He 
presided the following evening when Mr. 
Edwin Pears, a distinguished historian of 
Constantinople, lectured on the rare things 
of the city's history. These three gentle- 
men greatly endeared themselves to us. 
Mr. Pears 's lecture was especially fine in the 
information he gave concerning the museum 
where many of the relics are unmistakable 
proofs of those Bible statements most se- 
verely criticised. For example, the stone 
in the museum, positively from Solomon's 
Temple, which speaks of the penalty im- 
posed on those who profane the temple 
fully answers the criticisms of those who 
tell us that Jesus, a youth, could not have 
driven the people with a whip from the 
temple, as it would have created a riot 
throughout the city. 

5 



66 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 



Tuesday and Wednesday were spent in 
visiting the most noted points of interest; 
the Genoese Tower, overlooking all the city ; 
the treasury, where millions in value 
would fail to pay the price of the jewels — 
one, the great emerald, is appraised at 
$5,000,000; the Mosque of Saint Sophia, 
founded as a Christian church, A. D. 502, 
by Emperor Justinian. Its dome 105 feet 
in diameter, height, 184 feet. Its most 
exquisitely beautiful pillars were taken 
from the great Temple of Diana at Ephesus. 
Ten thousand men were employed in build- 
ing this mosque. Cost, $5,000,000. We 
visited the Hippodrome, Palace, Museum, 
bazaars, and Robert College. But the 
people, the dogs, and the pigeons interested 
us more than the buildings. Scarcely a 
woman was to be seen in this city of one 
million population. The men, everywhere 
in evidence, wore the red fez. We became 
so weary seeing them and listening to their 
unintelligible gabble it was really refresh- 



CONSTANTINOPLE, ETC. 69 

ing to think we did not have to stay in 
Constantinople forever. The dogs, " whom 
nobody owns," had the freedom of the city, 
as no one dares abuse or kill them. Our 
guide said there were eighty thousand of 
them, but the delegates were convinced that 
number was too small. Counting from al- 
most any point, fifty or more dogs could be 
readily enumerated. The pigeons, too, are 
sacred. At one time the enemies of Mo- 
hammed pursued him and he took refuge 
in a cave. They had supposed they saw 
him enter the cave, but seeing two pigeons 
building their nest in its mouth they 
concluded he was not there and passed 
on, and he escaped. Hence pigeons fly 
and nest where they please in Constanti- 
nople. Even the magnificent Mosque of 
Saint Sophia is numerously tenanted by 
them. 

Thursday morning, March 3 1 , we sailed up 
the Bosporus to permit the nose of our 
ship to push into the Black Sea for a mile 



70 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 

or two. When we passed Robert College 
enjoying its large commanding site, with its 
imposing chapel and dormitory, we saw 
" Old Glory" waving from the flagstaff and 
received a most enthusiastic salute from 
the three hundred and twenty students who 
gave their college yell and waved their 
small flags most enthusiastically. 

Robert College was founded about forty 
years ago with four students. Dr. Hamlin, 
its founder, had vainly sought to secure a 
site for it, but received the usual "we'll see 
about it," and was about giving up in 
despair when Admiral Farragut came into 
the harbor on his great battleship. The 
Sultan gave the admiral a banquet. Dr. 
Hamlin saw his opportunity and made the 
simple request of the admiral "that, at the 
banquet, he would ask the sultan if he was 
not going to give Dr. Hamlin the land for 
that college." That did the business. Dr. 
Hamlin, with his Yankee shrewdness, knew 
what that question would suggest to His 



CONSTANTINOPLE, ETC. 71 

Imperial Majesty. He quickly called his 
advisers together in consultation. What 
did that question mean ? Did it mean that 
unless the land were given the United States 
would send more war ships ? The next day 
Dr. Hamlin was presented with the im- 
mense campus now in the possession of 
that great college. Yes, great it is in the 
work it is doing for the future of the Turk- 
ish Empire, to say nothing of its present 
influence. Am I saying too much in 
averring that these colleges — one for girls 
as well is already planted here — are to 
change the civilization of these vast em- 
pires of the East? Never in my life did 
"Old Glory" mean more to me than it 
did this morning when I saw it waving 
from the flagstaff of Robert College. 
Not by fire and sword are the "golden 
years" to come to this country, but by 
the simple teaching and preaching of Jesus 
Christ. 

This ride up the Bosporus and into the 



72 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 

Black Sea reminded me of the sail up the 
Hudson, its banks lined with mansions and 
palaces of culture and beauty. Here we 
saw the homes of the ambassadors of all the 
great nations and the beautiful summer 




View of the Bosporus. 



home of the Krupps. By his death, a few 
months ago, his daughter becomes the 
richest woman in the world. 

Returning through the Bosporus we 
came to the Sea of Marmora, again passed 
through the Dardanelles, and Friday, 8 a.m., 
steamed into the harbor of Smyrna, grateful 




Ephesus.— Aqueduct and Castle. Gate to Persecution. Saint 
Lucas's Tomb. General View from Saint John's Church. 



CONSTANTINOPLE, ETC. 75 

to the kind Providence which had permitted 
us to see and enjoy so much by land and 
sea. 

At Smyrna five hundred and fifty of our 
company went to Ephesus, fifty-four miles 
distant. Our ride on the Ottoman Railroad 
was a continuous delight. As we passed 
many vineyards and fig orchards, espe- 
cially as we drew near Ephesus, we were 
not a little surprised to learn that sixty 
train loads of figs were sent from Ephesus 
to Smyrna last season. " The time of figs 
is not yet," but the orchards were most 
interesting in their promise of an abundant 
crop for the coming season. Great quan- 
tities of grapes are here dried into raisins. 
All the people are very busy — men, women, 
and children. 

At Ephesus we walked two and a half 
miles, to the site of the Theater, Stadium, 
and Gymnasium, after taking a brief survey 
of the ruins of the Temple of Diana, which 
had been destroyed seven times. Its be- 



70 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 

ginning is said to reach back two thousand 
years B. C. 

During a pouring rain we held a brief 
religious service in the old Theater, the 
pastor at Smyrna reading most of the nine- 
teenth chapter of Acts, and Rev. Dr. C. H. 
Parrish, colored church of Louisville, Ky., 
voicing a prayer for the destruction of su- 
perstition, idolatry, and sin of all kinds. He 
made an earnest plea for Africa, which had 
been so long oppressed. A large area of the 
place is covered with broken columns, cap- 
itals, panels, all of marble, some of it ex- 
quisitely beautiful. Here in this theater 
was the uproar Paul encountered through 
the jealous fears of Demetrius. The old 
church — mosque — in memory of Saint John, 
first Bishop of Ephesus, is here, quite a 
ruin. Here Paul preached and labored three 
years, as he told the brethren from Ephesus 
whom he met at Miletus. And John's 
immortal Book of Revelation shows us 
the position of Ephesus among the seven 



CONSTANTINOPLE, ETC. 77 

churches of Asia. Smyrna, too, had one of 
the seven churches, and so this city of 
325,000 population possesses a marvelous 
interest for Bible scholars, though not 
equal to Ephesus, where Paul wrote his 
First Epistle to the Corinthians. Smyrna 
has a history of over 3,000 years. Next to 
Constantinople it is the largest city in 
Turkey. Here Poly carp, in his ninety-fifth 
year, was burned as a martyr. He was a 
disciple of John, and thus comes quite near 
the time of our Lord. The proconsul, re- 
specting his age and venerable appearance, 
offered to save him from martyrdom if he 
would deny Christ. The reply of Polycarp 
was equal to the best in all Christian hero- 
ism: " Eighty and six years have I served 
my Lord, and he has never done me wrong; 
shall I deny him now?" So he witnessed a 
good profession, and forever reminds us that 
our Lord must have meant more than we 
think when he said : " Whosoever shall con- 
fess me before men, him shall the Son of 



78 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 

man also confess before the angels of God." 
Poly carp's grave in Smyrna, under the shade 
of two cypress trees, well up the mount 
crowned by the Acropolis, will ever be the 
shrine where the devout pilgrim will pay 
tribute to moral heroism and to the nobility 
of living and dying for Christ. 



PATMOS, RHODEvS, CYPRUS, BEIRUT 79 



CHAPTER V 

Patmos, Rhodes, Cyprus, Beirut 

The first here named is the Siberia of the 
Bible — the enforced habitation, for a time, 
of the beloved disciple John, banished for 
"the testimony of Jesus." Passing it in 
early morning, the clear light gave us a 
good opportunity to see it. Gazing upon 
the bare, rocky surface the question arose, 
By what means could John have survived 
his stay there? The most fitting words I 
could think of were, " loneliness and star- 
vation. " The whole story of the island and 
of John 's character was brought to my mind 
as summarized in a sermon I heard twenty 
years ago from the pastor of the Wesley 
Methodist Episcopal Church in New Orleans. 
It was the leading colored church of that city. 
My friend, Mr. Payne Pettebone, of Wyo- 
ming, Pa., had invited me to spend three 



80 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 

weeks with him on his sugar plantation of 
three thousand acres in Louisiana. We 
stopped over Sunday in New Orleans at the 
famous Saint Charles Hotel. We attended 
Ames Church in the morning and Wesley 
Church in the evening. It was crowded to 
the doors. The pastor came in half an hour 
late. Looking at the clock he said, "What 
ails dat ar' clock? It's half an hour too 
fast." " No, brother," replied one of the 
officials, " you're half an hour too slow." 
"Did you ever know me to git left?" 
retorted the preacher, and went on with the 
service as if he were on regulation time. 
His text was in Revelation: " I am he that 
was dead and am alive," etc. "John," 
said he, "was all de time talking about 
Jesus. Dey tried to stop him but could 
not. Dey put him in a kittle of boilin' oil, 
but hadn't any sooner got him in dar dan 
the Lawd sent down his swiftest angel, and 
de angel he fanned de fire out o' the kittle, 
and John never had a mo' comfortable 



PATMOS, RHODES, CYPRUS, BEIRUT 81 

bath in his life. Den dat cruel Emprur 
Domination [Domitian] said, 'I'll fix him 
so he won 't be talking about Jesus ! ' So he 
banished him to the lonely Isle of Patmos, 
where dar warn't a single pusson to talk to. 
But dey couldn't stop him talking about 
Jesus dat way. He just talked to himself. 
He wasn't like some of you Sunday morn- 
ing Christians. You git up in class and 
drawl out a slow, threadbare testimony 
how you love Jesus, and den you live all the 
-week as if you'd never heern tell of such a 
pusson as Jesus!" Up to this time they 
had frequently interrupted him with shouts 
and amens, but now you could have heard 
a pin drop. ''Why don't you say amen to 
that?" said he. 

With this suggestive story I will simply 
mention that the few people living on the 
island now have a tradition that when John 
came there the devil had a contention with 
him for sovereignty, but John commanded 

him to plunge into the sea, near two 
6 



8'Z THE BOOK AND THE LAND 

frightful rocks, and that since then, steam 
rises continually from the spot where Satan 
went down. Such is the belief in this 
legend that not one of the natives, for love 
or money, can be persuaded to conduct the 
visitor to that spot. 

Our captain sailed forty miles out of his 
way to give us a good view of Rhodes. The 
Colossus, one of the Seven Wonders of the 
World, here in ancient times, is not to be 
seen, and only traditions of the Knights of 
Saint John remain to show they had here 
such a famous organization. Paul visited this 
island after his farewell to Ephesus. For 
hours our vessel steamed in sight of Cyprus, 
Paul's labors there being mentioned several 
times in Acts. 

Easter Sunday services were held by 
a sermon in the morning from Rev. Mr. 
Allen, of Toledo. Text, " Remember Jesus 
Christ"; Sunday school in the afternoon; 
superintendent, Dr. Johnson, of Canada. 
My Bible class teacher was Rev. Dr. D. B. 



PATMOS, RHODES, CYPRUS, BEIRUT 83 

Purinton, president of the West Virginia 
University. If he administers the uni- 
versity as ably as he eon ducted our class I 
predict for it a magnificent career. Sunday 
evening a missionary service was held, ad- 
dressed by Professor James P. McNaughton 
and his wife, of the International College 
of Smyrna, Turkey. That both addresses 
were exceptionally fine may be seen in the 
fact that our company gave over six hun- 
dred dollars for missionary work there. 

Early Monday morning we dropped an- 
chor in Beirut harbor. The city has a pop- 
ulation of 150,000. Its greatest object of 
interest to Americans is the American Col- 
lege. Dr. Bliss is president. It has fifteen 
fine buildings and an endowment of nearly 
a half million. At present there are 740 
students. The head missionary is Dr. 
Jessup, highly respected by the college 
faculty and students. They gave our dele- 
gates a great reception, with speeches by 
President Bliss and several others, con- 



84 



THE BOOK AND THE LAND 



eluding with an enjoyable luncheon pro- 
vided jointly by our ship and the college. 
The American Consul, G. B. Raynda, showed 




Beirut. — View from American College. 



us marked attention, and is a gentleman in 
every sense of the word. My friends, J. B. 
Dennis, of Traer, Iowa, C. H. Wheelock, of 
Michigan, and I were especially remembered 
by him in a most delightful visit. 

Although Beirut is not mentioned in the 
Bible, it must always be of great interest to 
the Bible student as the door to the Medi- 
terranean from Syria, and to Damascus, 



PATMOS, RHODES, CYPRUS, BEIRUT 87 

Tyre, Sidon, etc., from the Mediterranean. 
Here for a long time we feasted our eyes 
upon Mount Lebanon, which seems to stand 
guard over the city. Like some giant of 
tallest stature, its head wearing a crown of 
eternal snow, it seemed to speak to us, not 
words of terror, but the welcome "Excelsior! 
Higher, higher! Mount to the heavens 
with me." Did we accept the invitation? 
Read the next chapter and see. 



88 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 



CHAPTER VI 

Baalbec and Damascus 

Yes, we heard the voice of Lebanon, and 
Tuesday morning at seven o'clock started 
from Beirut, by railway, for Baalbec. Think 
of Alp on Alp, mountain on mountain, 
higher, higher, until you reach a plane of 
almost a mile above the sea, and you can 
form some conception of our zigzag trip, 
drawn by our fiery steed, over the steel 
track of that railway. We were five hours 
going from Beirut to Rajak, a distance of 
forty miles. At Rajak we changed cars for 
Baalbec, where we arrived at 4:10 p. m. 
Our party, twenty-one persons, selected Pro- 
fessor McNaughton as our chief, to settle 
our hotel and car fare bills, and most ac- 
ceptably did he perform his part. After 
securing our rooms at the Hotel Palmyra 
we visited the Temple of Jupiter and then 



B A ALB EC AND DAMASCUS 89 



walked through a delightful avenue of trees 
to the spring Rasenain. This spring is of 
noted interest to Raalbec. It rises from 
many fountains, fed from subterranean 
deeps, and immediately on reaching the 
upper regions is a large creek of most beau- 
tiful water which goes laughing through the 
meadow and along the sides of many gar- 
dens singing, "I'm free, I'm free!" In our 
walk we visited a flour mill standing just as 
it had stood and done its work from time 
immemorial. It ground the whole wheat. 
Little wonder the people eating it are so 
healthy! We compared them, to our dis- 
advantage, with our pale-faced dyspeptic 
Americans, who insist on having their 
bread made from the very finest of the 
wheat. An old mosque and the dwellings 
of the people were objects of interest 
second only to the famous spring itself. 
We next visited the quarry from which 
the great stones of the temple were taken. 
"The great stone," famous the world over, 



90 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 

has not been removed, but remains in the 
quarry, fitted with all the exactness of 
mathematics for its place in the temple. It 
measures sixty-nine feet in length by four- 
teen feet square in width and depth. We 
stood on its smooth surface, joined hands, 
and had our pictures taken — twenty in one 
group. 

Returning to our hotel for six o'clock 
dinner we retired early, and rose the next 
morning to put in the forenoon viewing 
the ruins of two temples standing near 
together, the temples of Jupiter and of the 
Sun. The latter is by far the larger of the 
two, but does not excel the former in 
beauty. Roman and Greek, Arabic and 
Phoenician art are all in evidence here. 
The city, once a metropolis of many thou- 
sands of people, has now a population of 
from 2,500 to 5,000. History loses its 
breath in trying'to run back to its beginning. 
There is a strong tradition that it was 
founded by Cain, one hundred and thirty- 



BAALBEC AND DAMASCUS 



three years after the creation ; other tradi- 
tions ascribe its origin to Nimrod, the mighty 
hunter. There is little doubt that it is the 
Baalath where Solomon built a castle in 
honor of the Queen of Sheba, and where 
he also built a temple to please his concu- 
bines after he departed from the worship of 
God to the worship of Baal. We spent 
nearly the whole forenoon in these temples 
listening to our charming guide. Mr. Alouf, 
who has written the best work extant on 
Baalbec. His explanations of the marvel- 
ous architecture were worth our trip to the 
place. Six of the fifty -four columns of the 
Temple of the Sun, as it originally existed, 
are all that remain to declare its former 
glory. Independent of bases and capitals 
they are sixty-four feet high and seven 
feet in diameter. They are composed 
of three pieces each, but, so perfect is 
the workmanship, each seems a solid col- 
umn. The frescoes, friezes, all the carved 
work indeed, are marvels of perfection. 



94 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 

One piece in particular, to which Mr. 
Alouf called our attention as the finest work 
of art in the world, almost dazzled our eyes 
with its loveliness. I had read of grapes 
sculptured so perfectly that the birds would 
peck at them, but never believed the story ; 
but now I believe it. Here was imitation 
so complete that the thing that seemed was 
made real. Going to the outside wall of the 
Temple of the Sun we saw the eight greatest 
stones, each sixty-four feet long, thirteen 
feet wide, thirteen feet deep. Were there 
giants in science as well as stature when 
these temples were built? Who can tell? 

After leaving Rajak we went many miles 
through mountain gorges until we reached 
the source of the Abana, to which Naaman 
referred in his interview with Elisha, and 
soon after, nine miles from Damascus, we 
observed that it had become a river. We 
learned that at this point a subterranean 
river comes to the surface and joins the 
Abana, which rushes on twenty and thirty 



BAALBEC AND DAMASCUS 



9? 



feet wide until lost in the great marsh about 
fifteen miles below Damascus. For twenty 
miles after we began to descend Lebanon 
we saw fields and pastures with cattle, 
sheep, and goats; meadows and gardens, 
and orchards of apples, oranges, lemons, 
pomegranates, apricots, olives, pears, plums, 
peaches, cherries, etc., becoming more and 
more charming until they had their cul- 
mination of beauty in Damascus, where we 
arrived at 4:10 p. m., April 6. We were 
soon at home in the Grand Hotel D'Orient, 
the Kaonan Brothers proprietors. And it 
was a hotel indeed. The rooms, the service, 
the menu were all that could be desired. 
We took carriages at once and drove to the 
street "called Straight" and saw the house 
of Judas, the first house Paul visited in 
Damascus and where the scales fell from 
his eyes when Ananias put his hands upon 
him. Near this house was the fountain 
where Paul was baptized. We hurried on 

to the house where he was let down in a 
7 



08 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 

basket, over the wall, and escaped his 
enemies who were lying in wait to kill him. 
Then we drove to the mountain, from which 
we had a view of Damascus at sunset. 

At about the point where we stood the 
Moslems say Abraham had his first revela- 
tion of God; and Mohammed, hearing it, 
went to the same place. When he came to 
it he was speechless as he looked down on 
the beauty and glory of Damascus. They 
urged him to go into the city, but he re- 
fused, saying, " There is only one other 
Paradise ; if I enter this I shall have no de- 
sire to enter the other. No ; I shall not go into 
Damascus. ' ' And he never entered the city. 

Do you wonder that I, too, had thrilling 
emotions, spending my sixty-first birthday 
in Baalbec and Damascus, places whose 
interest is not exceeded by that of any 
others in the world ! I could only return my 
heart's gratitude to the Giver of all our 
mercies, He who crowns all our years with 
his goodness. 



BAALBEC AND DAMASCUS 99 

April 7 our good conductor, Professor 
McNaughton, with "Charley" as interpreter, 
took us to the bazaars and many other 
points of interest. The Mosque of Amwey 
is the largest in the city, and one of the 
most noted in the world, in some respects 
more so than the Mosque of Saint Sophia in 
Constantinople. The chapels, altars, col- 
umns, and ceilings are magnificent beyond 
description. The Moslems claim that John 
the Baptist is buried here. His tomb in the 
center of the mosque is a shrine of devotion 
to thousands of pilgrims. Connected with 
the mosque is the tomb of the great Saladin, 
quite near which is the crown of the em- 
perors of Germany, presented as a souvenir 
of his recent visit by the present emperor. 
Back of the mosque, on a panel of the gate- 
way, is the famous inscription in Greek: 
" Thy kingdom, O Christ, is an everlast- 
ing kingdom, and thy dominion endure th 
throughout all generations." We also saw 
the maple tree, called " the tree of the holy 



L.of C. 



100 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 

prophet," said to be one thousand three 
hundred years old. It is of fifty feet girth, 
over sixteen feet diameter. We saw two 
homes, the finest in the city, in the Jewish 
and Christian quarters. That is, the former 
is said to be the finest in the city not only, 
but one of the finest in the world. Its in- 
terior finish is of exquisite marble adorned 
with inlaid and mosaic work. Its cost runs 
into the millions, so great, indeed, that its 
owner bankrupted himself — no uncommon 
thing in the Turkish Empire. The home in 
the Christian quarter was very elegant, but 
did not equal the other in richness. 

In the great Moslem cemetery we saw 
the tomb of Fatima, Mohammed's daugh- 
ter; interesting to us because it seemed to 
bring us near that great prophet whose in- 
fluence in all this eastern empire is so 
powerful. The graves in this cemetery, all 
of them, resemble the sarcophagus in form. 
All are above ground, giving the whole 
cemetery a unique and strange appearance 



BAALBEC AND DAMASCUS 101 



There must be thousands upon thousands 
of them. It is the same story the world 
over. Death hath entered into the world 
and claims dominion everywhere. 

Last Sunday was our Easter; next Sun- 
day will be Easter in Damascus. We saw 
a woman with a bottle suspended under her 
eyes to catch the falling tears. She might 
have been a wife grieving for her husband ; 
a mother weeping for a son or daughter. 
Was it a coincidence that we saw her 
weeping between these two Easters? If 
she could only know that there is to be a 
resurrection morning! Yes, it is coming, 
coming. Then " all that are in their graves 
shall hear his voice" — the voice that Laza- 
rus heard calling him back to the loving 
Mary and Martha — the voice we all shall 
hear abolishing death and flooding the 
universe with light and life and immortality ! 

Friday morning at 8 130 we left Damascus 
with memories of our delightful visit that 
must live forever; with mind and heart 



102 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 

thrilled by its traditions, its marvelous his- 
tory, its enchanting gardens; its continuous 
authentic records proving it to be the oldest 
city in the world. I penned the following 
sentiment: Damascus! Star and Crescent 
combined; Emerald of Syria; Eden of our 
first parents; Abraham's mount of vision 
where he had his first revelation of God; 
where Paul, too, received the heavenly 
vision to which, like Abraham, he was not 
disobedient; where Mohammed got an 
intenser love for the paradise not of earth ; 
Damascus! May all that is noble, beautiful, 
and magnificent in thy long history be re- 
peated and more than duplicated in all the 
coming ages, and all that has been dark, 
cruel, superstitious, and unworthy of thee 
be forever forgotten 1 



FOR THE SAKE OF EXPERIENCE 103 



CHAPTER VII 

For the Sake of Experience 

I may be pardoned for giving a truthful 
chronicle of our return trip from Damascus 
to Beirut. There were twenty-one ladies 
and gentlemen in our party, and for the 
sake of the experience we agreed to ride in 
a third-class car of one compartment. We 
could all be together, and if one rejoiced all 
might rejoice with him, and if one suffered 
all might suffer with him. The railway com- 
pany gave us, seemingly, the oldest car in 
the world, appropriate in view of the fact 
that we were leaving the oldest city in 
the world. It was the experience we were 
after, and we certainly got all we paid for. 
Professor McNaughton had us in charge, 
assisted by Mr. William Yule, of Saint Louis, 
Mo. Mr. Yule had the best guidebook in 
the party, which from its frequent use 



104 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 

became the servant of all. He had joined 
our ship at Constantinople, with Mrs. 
Davenport, his mother-in-law, and his ten- 
year-old son, Edwin. They proved most 
enjoyable companions, having just returned 
from sveral months' touring in India, 
Egypt, etc., and were to go on with us to 
Jerusalem and then across Europe and 
home to the Louisiana Purchase Exposi- 
tion in Saint Louis. Mr. Yule showed me 
many courtesies I shall never forget. 

Referring again to Professor and Mrs. 
McNaughton, our little company had come 
to hold them in such regard that, at a ten- 
minute halt at one of the stations Judge 
Martin, of Little Rock, Ark., in behalf of 
the party, presented Professor McNaughton 
a purse of about thirty dollars. The Pro- 
fessor and his wife will ever hold a warm 
place in our hearts. Of the other members 
of our party, missionaries, preachers, bank- 
ers, business men, two were from Iowa, 
two from Illinois, one from Arkansas, one 



FOR THE SAKE OF EXPERIENCE 105 



from Louisiana, two from Massachusetts, 
two from Smyrna, two from Beirut, one 
from Kansas, one from Oregon, one from 
Sidon, Syria, one from Toronto, Canada, 
one from Sofia, Bulgaria, three from Saint 
Louis, Mo., one from Ohio, and one from 
Michigan. 

At Rajak we were given a still older car 
than that which I had thought was the 
oldest in the world. From there most of 
the way to Beirut it rained or snowed, but 
within that old car all the jokes, conun- 
drums and stories ever invented were dis- 
pensed as if never repeated before — all 
original, entirely new, etc. Of those of one 
who told them in unending continuation 
some one remarked that they resembled the 
mountain streams rushing over the cliffs. 
" Yes," said the wit of the company, "and 
like those streams, they are yellow with 
age." 

By suggestion of Mrs. Fentress, Professor 
McNaughton asked two of us to offer 



106 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 

prayers of thanksgiving for our wonderful 
experience in thus visiting Baalbec and 
Damascus, for our goodly fellowship, for 
the marvelous sights we had enjoyed in 
riding over the mountains of Lebanon, and 
particularly for our deliverance from harm, 
as eight Syrians had been killed and twenty 
injured in the wreck that we passed only a 
few miles from the station at which we were 
then halting. The air brake had refused to 
serve the train and it ran down to the foot 
of the plane, utterly demolishing two or 
three cars, and with this frightful loss of 
life. Of course we all joined in thanks 
that we, who had gone over the same track 
three days before had been safe from ac- 
cident and death. Then we sang " Sweet 
by and by," "Rock of Ages," "Jesus, 
Lover of my soul," and "Blest be the tie 
that binds. " 

We reached Beirut in safety at five 
o'clock and were soon again on the ship, to 
which we have given the name of " Our 



FOR THE SAKE OF EXPERIENCE 107 



home on the sea. ' ' All in all, our experience 
in a third-class car had not only saved us 
considerable money, for which some of us 
were glad, but had given us a view of life 
from the standpoint of the emigrants, the 
pilgrims, the common people, the poor 
people. Great is the poverty of the masses 
in Turkey — the class of which Jesus spoke, 
saying, " The poor ye have with you al- 
ways." It isn't the worst education in the 
world to learn how other people live. 



108 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 



CHAPTER VIII 

Carmel, Nazareth, Galilee, Joppa 

Imagine my feelings when, landing at 
Haifa, Saturday, April 9, I first saw Mount 
Carmel; the scene of Elijah's contest with 
the prophets of Baal, and where his altar of 




Mount Carmel. 



sacrifice was made a shrine for the cen- 
turies by his complete victory over 
them. Here, too, he offered that memor- 
able prayer which brought the abundant 



CARMEL, NAZARETH, ETC. 109 

rain, to the refreshment of the drought- 
stricken land. 

On Sunday, "with Mr. Haskell, of Ne- 
braska, and Mr. Nutall, of West Virginia, I 
walked up the mountain, two and one half 
miles, to the monastery of the Carmelites, 
the oldest monastic order in the world. 
Before the ascent we attended service in 
the Church of England edifice. Unusual 
interest attached to it from the fact that the 
bishop was to preach. He was an old man, 
seemingly, of feeble health. He read his 
sermon in a low voice. It was commend- 
able for its elegant use of Bible statements 
concerning the resurrection. His text was 
the same that Dr. Potts had used in his 
sermon on Mars' Hill, the Sunday before 
Easter : " He preached unto them Jesus and 
the resurrection." If Dr. Potts had de- 
livered the bishop's sermon it would have 
been a great one. At the monastery we 
enjoyed a good luncheon and saw Elijah's 
cave and chapel; the latter one of the 



110 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 



finest we have seen thus far. The monk 
who received us treated us most hospitably. 
The only serious annoyance we experienced 
in going and coming was from the persistent 
appeals of the boys for " backsheesh. " It 
is so usual in this country that we do not 
mind it, as a rule; but to-day there was no 
let up until we returned to the ship. 

The trip to Nazareth and Tiberias, Gal- 
ilee, and return was by carriages; seven- 
teen and one half miles to Nazareth, six- 




Nazareth, from the Road to Cana. 



CARMEL, NAZARETH, ETC. Ill 

teen and one half farther to Tiberias. Both 
Nazareth and Galilee are so intimately 
associated with the life of Jesus that I must 
refer the reader to the statements in the 
gospels concerning his connection with 
them. At Xazareth the angel Gabriel made 
the announcement to Mar}' that she was to 
be the mother of our Saviour; from here 
she and her husband, Joseph, went to 
Bethlehem, where Jesus was born; and 
here after their return from Egypt, Jesus 
was " brought up" a carpenter. And here, 
too, after he entered upon his ministry, his 
own townspeople rejected him and sought 
to kill him at the Mount of Precipitation. 
" But he, passing through the midst of them, 
went his way and came down to Caper- 
naum.". "The Fountain of the Virgin," a 
powerful spring, is the principal object of 
interest to visitors, as Jesus, Joseph, and 
Mar}' must have slaked their thirst here. 

By the Kefr Kenna route from Nazareth 
to Tiberias one passes Cana, where Jesus 



112 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 



performed his first miracle, and the Mount of 
Beatitudes, where our Lord preached the 
"Sermon on the Mount." Near this place 




Tiberias. 



the great Saladin, July 3, 1 187, defeated the 
Crusaders, and the splendid army of Knights 
Templars were slain or taken prisoners. 

The Sea of Galilee, about twelve miles 
long and four miles wide, is so full of thrill- 
ing incidents in the life of Jesus that I dare 
not begin to narrate them and will refer the 
reader to the Bible story. 

" O Galilee, blue Galilee, 
Thy waves bring back his voice to me, 
Like golden chimes on silver sea, 
O Galilee, blue Galilee! " 



C ARM EL, NAZARETH, ETC. 113 

A whole book could be written of what 
we saw and thought at Nazareth, Galilee, 
and Samaria, where so much of our Sav- 
iour's ministry was spent, but we must on 
to Jerusalem. Leaving Haifa at an early 
hour Monday morning, April 1 1 , we dropped 
anchor off Joppa at ten o'clock, where Ave 
hoped to go on shore after the 11:30 
luncheon. But the waves were turbulent, 
and our good captain takes no chances 
where human lives are in the problem. We 
were safe in the ship, and Joppa — before 
our eyes — could get along without us. Our 
special train to Jerusalem could wait, and 
we would have plenty of time to write up 
our journals and letters to friends at home. 
The landing at Joppa has a record for being 
a bad one, and when one is in the so-called 
harbor of Joppa, and the waves between 
ship and shore conduct themselves as if 
they had no respect for small boats, no 
reverence for pilgrims to World's Sunday 
School Conventions, all said boats can do 

8 



11 1 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 



is not to push out from shore and all said 
pilgrims can do is to " let patience have her 
perfect work!'' 

The first death among our eight hundred 
and eleven delegates occurred on Sunday 
morning. A Mrs. Brown, of Marshalltown, 
la., sixty-one years of age, an estimable 
Christian, expired suddenly from heart 
failure. Her husband, greatly stricken with 
the bereavement, told me her death was 
not unexpected, as she had been afflicted 
with heart trouble for twenty years. It 
was beautiful to witness the expressions 
of sympathy from all the ship's company, 
passengers and crew. 

The wrestling waves finally tired them- 
selves to sleep and the sea became calm as 
when Jesus spoke to angry Galilee and said, 
" Peace, be still." Only two or three points 
of interest in Joppa delayed us, as Ave were 
all anxious to reach Jerusalem. The first 
was the traditional house of Simon, the 
tanner, where Peter had that remarkable 



C ARM EL, NAZARETH, ETC. 115 

vision showing him that God had forever, 
in Christ, removed the wall of separation 
between Jew and Gentile ; the fact also that 
here he raised Dorcas to life after coming 
from Lydda, where he healed Eneas, the 
paralytic; and from here Jonah sailed for 
Tarshish, on that memorable voyage. 



116 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 



CHAPTER IX 

From Joppa to Jerusalem 

The railway and carriage routes from 
Joppa to Jerusalem are both very inter- 
esting. The distance by carriage road is 
forty-four miles, by railway, fifty-four 




On the Road to Jerusalem. 



miles. By the former the first object of 
beauty is the Vale of Sharon with its roses, 
which bring to mind the Rose of Sharon 



FROM JOPPA TO JERUSALEM 117 

whose fragrance fills all the world for all 
time; then the place where John the 
Baptist was born ; that city of Juda where 
Zacharias and Elisabeth resided and where 
Mary, the mother of our Lord, visited 
Elisabeth, who extended that prophetic 
salutation ; Gezer, the ancient capital of the 
Canaanites, standing on the site of at least 
six buried cities, as the excavations of the 
Palestine Exploration Fund have revealed. 
Then, lastly, six miles from Jerusalem, is 
delightful Emmaus, to which the two disci- 
ples were journeying, after the resurrection 
and burial of Jesus, when he joined them in 
their walk and discoursed so wonderfully 
that, when he suddenly vanished from 
their sight, having been made known to 
them in the breaking of bread, they ex- 
claimed: "Did not our heart burn within 
us while he talked with us by the way and 
while he opened to us the Scriptures?" 

In the route by railway the first object of 
note after leaving Joppa — with its ever-to- 



118 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 



be-dreaded landing and its traditions of 
Peter and Jonah — were the far-famed orange 
groves, the most noted in the world. The 
fruit is said to excel that of any other 
groves. Then we skirted the Vale of 
Sharon, and Ajalon, where Joshua com- 
manded the sun and moon to stand still; 
passed the fields where the mischievous 
Samson destroyed the ripe wheat of the 
Philistines by turning the foxes loose with 
firebrands tied to their tails ; picked up some 
small stones from the brook near which 
David killed the giant Goliath, and, best of 
all, saw the place where Samuel set up the 
stone "Ebenezer" in gratitude for divine 
interposition and deliverances. As if by 
one impulse we all sang: 

" Here I'll raise mine Ebenezer; 
Hither by thy help I'm come; 
And I hope, by thy good pleasure, 
Safely to arrive at home." 

Surely "It is a good thing to give thanks 
unto the Lord." Had he not given us safe 



FROM JOPPA TO JERUSALEM 119 

voyage over thousands of miles of trackless 
seas? and no accident had come to one of 
our more than eight hundred souls. 

Our guide pointed to the hill where 
Samson was born, but we learn that many 
other places contend for the honor of having 
been his birthplace. It is the tribute which 
the world pays to phenomenal personality. 
Seven cities contested stoutly for the fame 
of having been Homer's native place. Such 
is the weakness of mankind — a weakness 
seen in every age of the world. With all 
our boasted progress we, too, are falling 
into the procession which has kept its steady 
stream through all the centuries. Our 
Washington, Lincoln, Grant, McKinley, will 
more and more command the homage of 
men. 



120 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 



CHAPTER X 
Jerusalem 

At 12:30 o'clock on Tuesday, April 12, 
our train stopped at the Jerusalem station. 
With what a thrill one realizes that he is in 
u the city of the great King"! It has rilled 
so large and conspicuous a place in history, 
and not alone the historian, but the orator, 
the poet, and the artist have vied with each 
other in portraying the glories of Jerusalem. 
Our minds recall its kings and mighty men, 
its long chronicle of events — chief of all, at 
Bethlehem, six miles from it, Jesus was born ; 
and here was Calvary, where he gave his 
life, a "propitiation for the sins of the 
whole world." And here, too, is Mount 
Olivet, from whose sky-kissed summit he 
rose to heaven, leaving to us all the sweet- 
est of all farewells: "I will come again." 
Have our loved ones passed away, and we 



JERUSALEM 



121 



see them no more, and our eyes throb with 
pain we cannot assuage, as we vainly look 
for them? They, too, will come again. 
His parting message is their message to us, 
by the wireless telegraphy of love: "We 
will come again." "The touch of the 
vanished hand" will be the clasp unbroken, 
unending ! 

" O, ye weary, sad, and tossed ones, 
Weep not, faint not by the way; 
Ye shall join the loved and lost ones 
In that land of cloudless day." 

Before leaving home for my trip to the 
Holy Land I received a letter of intro- 
duction to the "American Colony" from 
Professor Goodrich, of the Chair of Greek 
in Albion College, who had been in Jerusa- 
lem twelve years ago. His letter carried 
weight of influence with it; for when I 
called on the colony, just outside the city 
walls, immediately after the noon luncheon, 
one of their number, a young Mr. Baldwin, 
gave up the afternoon to my service. We 



122 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 



first went to their home inside the city 
walls. 

Here I renewed my acquaintance with 
Mr. Jacob Eliahu, a leading man among 
them, whom I had known during my pas- 
torate at Albion, Mich. Going to the United 
States on business, he came to Professor 
Goodrich for advice, and was his guest for 
several days. The advice of Mr. E. N. 
Parsons and of Professor Goodrich proved 
satisfactory and led to complete success. 
Mr. Eliahu is an authority on Jerusalem 
matters, an intelligent Christian, and in 
great demand as a guide. It was on his 
invitation that Mr. Morris and I dined at 
their house, as narrated in Chapter XIII. 
He spoke of the rapid fulfillment of Jere- 
miah xxxi, 31-40. Jerusalem is to become 
more and more attractive, and the period 
of her desolations has come to an end. " It 
shall not be plucked up nor thrown down 
any more forever." " Mount Zion shall yet 
be the joy of the whole earth. 1 1 



JERUSALEM 123 

I was received with great cordiality, 
and treated to cake and a cup of tea, 
the hospitality they extend to all who call 
on them. Then I was conducted to the top 
of the house, from which a fine view of Je- 
rusalem can be had. This is the highest 
dwelling house in the city. From it I se- 
lected the places for Mr. Baldwin to show 
me. It would be useless for me to attempt 
a description of them, and my readers must 
not ask me to undertake the impossible. 

As we sallied forth that which impressed 
me was the cosmopolitan character of 
the people I met. Jews, Arabs, English, 
French, Scotch, and Americans were to be 
seen, and twice as many other nationali- 
ties were represented. The Jewish pass- 
over and the Easter celebrations were 
scarcely ended, and thousands upon thou- 
sands of Jews and Russians thronged the 
city. When we visited the Church of the 
Holy Sepulcher I could not fail to be im- 
pressed with the devotion of the Russians 



124 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 

to the shrines commemorative of the 
Christ. They are members of the Greek 
Church, and I saw scores, even hundreds, 
of them prostrate themselves before the 
marble Altar of Anointment, where the 
body of Jesus was anointed for burial. 
They kissed it again and again with a 
lover's devotion; and so, too, the places 
where the true cross was found, where it 
stood when Christ was crucified, and at the 
sepulcher where they claim he was buried. 
There were more men than women, but 
both sexes seemed to vie in paying homage 
to the cross, to the Virgin Mary's statue, and 
to the tomb of our Saviour. It was notice- 
able that the statue of the Virgin Mary was 
literally covered with costliest jewels; rings, 
brooches, bracelets studded with diamonds 
and other most precious stones, gifts of 
kings, queens, and nobility of all lands were 
in every spot that could be utilized. All 
the fingers of the hands were loaded with 
costly rings, even to their ends. In the 



JERUSALEM U5 

glass inclosure of this piece of statuary 
there was a heart of considerable size, 
which was one of the finest pieces of art I 
have ever seen. It is hazardous to esti- 
mate the value of all these gifts, but they 
represent fabulous sums, millions of dollars, 
I doubt not. I found here the sublime and 
ridiculous in most convenient juxtaposi- 
tion. For example, here was the very 
spot from which the earth was taken out of 
which Adam was created, and just a few 
yards away was his tomb. Here was the 
very spot where the crucifixion occurred, the 
brass hole wherein the cross was placed 
marking the center of the earth ; and, in the 
cellar of the church, the shrine where Helena, 
mother of Constantine, discovered in a 
vision the true cross. Everything is here. 
The cross on which Jesus was crucified, the 
marble slab on which he was anointed, the 
sepulcher in which he was buried, the tomb 
of Joseph of Arimathea, etc., etc.; the 
strangest thing of all is the credulity of 



126 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 

thousands upon thousands who accept all 
these claims with the utmost sincerity. 

My own opinion is that Gordon's Cal- 
vary, outside the present city walls, is the 
place where Jesus was crucified. It is 
inclosed and under Moslem control, which 
does not allow visitors to enter it; but its 
conformation is easily seen from the tops of 
the houses adjacent. I am satisfied that 
the Pool of Bethesda is the place where 
Jesus quickly healed the impotent man who 
had waited years for healing. All the sur- 
roundings show the genuineness of the 
Bible narrative recorded in the fifth chapter 
of the gospel by John. The tower of An- 
tonia, where Paul addressed the rabble, and 
Pilate's judgment hall are well authenti- 
cated. The grotto of Veronica, who is 
represented as wiping the blood from our 
Lord's face, caused by the thorns which 
pierced his brow, is visited by thousands. 
The scene appears realistic in the extreme, 
and whether or not the Via Dolorosa — the 



JERUSALEM 127 

Way of Sorrow — is the street through 
which Jesus bore his cross toward Calvary 
until he fell from exhaustion, it all seemed 
real to me, and I could well be glad that the 
sweet Veronica so pitied him that she 
wiped the blood from his sad, sad face. 



1-28 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 



CHAPTER XI 

Jerusalem, Jericho, Jordan, and the Dead Sea 

The day after my arrival in Jerusalem I 
made the trip to Jericho, the Dead Sea, and 
the River Jordan, and returned on Thurs- 
day, April 14. The distance is twenty miles. 
It seems much longer, though the macad- 
amized road is very good, having been built 
at great expense by the Turkish govern- 
ment. "Going down to Jericho" is a most 
appropriate expression, for the entire route 
is a continuous descent until the Dead Sea 
is reached, thirteen hundred feet below the 
level of the sea. I confess to some nervous- 
ness, as our carriage, drawn by three horses, 
would swing perilously near the precipitous 
cliffs below the roadway. To add to my trep- 
idation, the drivers are proverbially careless, 
and often give free vent to their propensity 
for driving past the teams ahead of them. 



JERUSALEM, JERICHO, ETC. 120 

At about half the distance from Jerusa- 
lem we stopped to rest the horses at the Inn 
of the Good Samaritan, where many curios 
were purchased. The old inn bears every 
mark of being on the site of the hostelry to 
which a kind-hearted Samaritan would 
have carried a man who had been robbed 
and wounded and left half dead by the 
thieves. We also passed the Apostles' 
Fountain, said to have been the stopping 
place of the apostles in their journey ings 
that way. We all left our carriages to view 
the retreat where Elijah was fed by ravens. 
The monks have a monastery near it. 
Coming near Jericho we had to leave the 
carriages and walk down the long, steep 
hill, so steep, and filled with stones withal, 
that riding was torture to the passengers as 
well as to the horses. 

Before stopping at the hotels for lunch 

we were driven to Elisha's Fountain. Its 

sweet waters reminded us of the waters to 

which we Americans had been accustomed. 
9 



130 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 

We did not need to tax our imaginations to 
confirm the Bible statement that these 
"waters were sweetened unto this day." 
Not in any other place in Palestine have we 
found such water. It is an ample stream, 
furnishing water to run the mill a little way 
from the fountain, and enough left to slake 
the thirst of the thousands who visit it. 
Near it are remains of the old walls of Jeri- 
cho, and beyond is the Mount of Tempta- 
tion, where our Lord was tempted of the 
devil forty days. It seemed so near! we 
could see the caves in its sides and look 
up into the sky which the " exceedingly high 
mountain" seemed to touch. 

After dinner we drove to the Dead Sea 
and then returned to the Jordan on the way 
to our hotel. The heat was almost in- 
tolerable; the mercury would easily have 
registered 150 degrees. All the approaches 
to the Dead Sea and the sea itself indi- 
cated to every visitor that this must be 
the site of those doomed cities, Sodom and 



JERUSALEM, JERICHO, ETC. 133 

Gomorrah. I tasted the waters of the sea, 
and washed my hands, but did not care to 
swim in it — a temptation some of our party 
could not resist, even those advanced in 
years ; but all who did so were " salted with 
salt" and had to undress again for a bath 
in the Jordan to get rid of the slime with 
which their bodies were covered. 

The Jordan at the place we visited was 
about seventy-five feet wide and ten feet 
deep, having a strong current. Many filled 
empty bottles with its water to show to 
their friends, and others to use for bap- 
tismal purposes. The guide told us it was 
here the children of Israel crossed into 
Palestine; here Elijah and Elisha crossed 
over before the formers ascension in a 
chariot of fire, and the latter recrossed after 
seeing his chief pass into heaven. The 
guide also said it was here that John the 
Baptist officiated at the baptism of mul- 
titudes, but evidently such could not have 
been the case. 



- 134 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 

Across the Jordan was the land of Moab, 
the mountains of Moab, Mount Nebo, and 
still higher, Mount Pisgah, where Moses 
stood and looked over into the land of 
promise which he was not allowed to enter. 
Somewhere in these mountains God buried 
him in a sepulcher which " no man knoweth 
unto this day." 

We arrived at Jerusalem in good time for 
our noon lunch. Not one of us regretted 
we had taken the trip. On our return we 
stopped at Bethany, saw the site of the 
house of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, and 
the grave from which Jesus called Lazarus 
back to life again. What associations 
came to mind as we trod those paths the 
feet of Jesus so often had trodden, and 
stood on the site of the house where he 
had again and again received such loving 
entertainment. Bethany, like Galilee, will 
ever be dear to the hearts of those who 
love the places hallowed by the visits of 
our Lord. 



JERUSALEM, BETHLEHEM, HEBRON 135 



CHAPTER XII. 

Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Hebron 

The ride of twenty miles from Jerusalem 
to Hebron can be made in a day, with easy 
return. The roadway is good and there are 
no steep hills such as make the Jordan trip 
difficult. On the way out, not far from 
Bethlehem, we passed Rachel's Tomb, a 
well-preserved memorial of the centuries 
remote when Jacob loved Rachel and she 
became his wife, and here, near Bethlehem, 
in giving birth to Benjamin, she died, and 
was buried in the very spot of ground 
where this beautiful tomb is built to mark 
her last resting place. Not many miles 
farther we came to the Pools of Solomon; 
the first one, 380 feet long, 226 feet wide, 25 
feet deep; second one, 423 feet long, 230 
feet wide, 39 feet deep; the third, or lower 
one, 582 feet long, 207 feet wide, 50 feet 



136 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 

deep. In Solomon's time they were filled 
with water, and through aqueducts sup- 
plied the water for the great temple and all 
the sacred buildings on Mount Zion. Now 
the upper one is used as a garden ; the second 
and third have a little water in them, but 
not much. 

Still onward, toward Hebron, we came to 
the spring of Philip, where he baptized the 
eunuch. It is a small running fountain*. 
We saw the women washing their clothes 
in the trough which the fountain supplies. 
Before reaching Hebron we passed through 
the valley of Eshcol, where the vineyards 
gave promise that their reputation for fine 
grapes would be fully sustained this year. 
We thought of the spies who returned from 
their survey bringing some of the clusters of 
grapes from the vineyards of Eshcol. 

We arrived at Hebron about noon, and 
went immediately to the place where 
Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, 
and Jacob and Leah were buried. Abra- 



JERUSALEM, BETHLEHEM, HEBRON 187 

ham's oak is still said to stand here, but 
as it was over three thousand five hun- 
dred years ago that he sat under it one 
cannot believe it to exist in Hebron now. 
The town is populous and dirty, has no 
enterprise, and is just as sleepy as if filled 
with Rip Van Winkles. When I wished to 
mail a letter I was sleepily informed there 
was not a post office in the town. The 
oldest city in Palestine is only a mockery 
of its past when the father of the Hebrew 
nation resided there. David was king there 
for seven and a half years, and there much 
of Israels fame had its origin. Our greatest 
interest in this trip, however, was reserved 
for our stop at Bethlehem. Here we saw 
the place, the very hostelry, where Jesus 
was born, and as there was no room in the 
inn to receive his parents he was cradled in 
a manger. We looked on the fields where 
the shepherds watched their flocks by 
night, and where they listened to the 
chorus of the angelic host saying, "Glory 



138 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 

to God in the highest, on earth peace to 
men of good will." Did earth ever before 
hear music like that? At the creation the 
morning stars sang together because it was 
so great a thing to create a world. But it 
was far greater to redeem a world — hence 
the universal jubilation. 

"Joy to the world! the Lord is come; 
Let earth receive her King!" 

At Bethlehem, too, we saw the field of Boaz, 
where Ruth gleaned after the reapers, and 
here too was the well known as David 's Well, 
whose water he so longed for in the battle, 
and, like his kingly self, refused to drink it, 
throwing it upon the ground, because the 
men who brought it to him had gotten it at 
"the peril of their lives." And here I will 
say that we who had the privilege of seeing 
Jericho and the Jordan, Hebron and Beth- 
lehem, gained this pleasure " at the peril of 
our lives." Never had I more really taken 
my life in my hands than when I took my 
seat in the carriage for the Jericho trip and 



JERUSALEM, BETHLEHEM, HEBRON 139 

the Hebron trip. On the day we returned 
from Hebron one carriage of Cook's party 
in our procession, went over an embank- 
ment, its four occupants, two gentlemen 
and two ladies, its driver and his three 
horses, all together in a complete collapse. 
One of the gentlemen was severely hurt 
with face and head cuts. The carriage was 
completely wrecked, and how any of the 
party escaped without broken bones is a 
mystery. Unless some of the reckless 
drivers can be banished from these routes, 
tourists will hesitate a long time before 
running the risk. Before I made either 
trip it was said to me, I should be glad to 
go, but a "mighty sight more thankful to 
get back alive." Of course I had not the 
slightest intimation that the reckless drivers 
were the principal source of danger. On 
my return from Hebron to Jerusalem I told 
Mr. Clark, our manager, of the accident to 
the Cook party. "We, too, had bad luck 
with our Jericho trip, ' ' was his reply. " One 



140 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 

of our carriages went over an embankment 
ten feet, horses, driver, and four occupants 
of the carriage. One of the gentlemen was 
badly hurt; his scalp and his face badly 
cut." I saw my friend Dennis, of Iowa, 
next day and jokingly said to him, "Then 
you had a tip-over on your Jericho trip 
yesterday." "Yes," was his reply, "I 
was the first man on deck and helped pull 
the others out of the wreck, and here's a 
piece of the carriage I've saved for a 
souvenir. ' ' 




Josiah Morris. 



JOSIAH MORRLS 



CHAPTER XIII 

Josiah Morris, my Quaker Friend 

One of the chief pleasures of an ocean 
voyage is the formation of friendships, true, 
beautiful, and lasting. 

About a fortnight after the Grosser Kur- 
fiirst sailed from New York I was invited to 
serve on a committee to prepare a testi- 
monial to Hon. E. K. Warren, Chairman of 
the Executive Committee of the Worlds 
Fourth Sunday School Convention. It was 
decided to present an autograph album to 
contain the names of the delegates, and the 
suggestion was made that the menu cards, 
with their beautiful designs, be used for the 
autographs, that these very artistic cards 
be bound in a cover of olive wood, tastefully 
and richly designed, and that the work be 
done in Jerusalem regardless of expense. 
As Mr. Warren should be kept in profound 



1U THE BOOK AND THE LAND 

ignorance, we decided to ask the delega- 
tions of the States and provinces of the 
United States and Canada to aid us in 
securing the names of their members. It 
fell to me to explain the matter to the 
different delegations. 

When I met the Indiana delegation its 
chairman proved to be Josiah Morris, of 
Rockville, Ind. Small in stature and phy- 
sique, his personality readily distinguished 
him as a leader. As I stated the case he 
quickly and pleasantly replied, with the 
hearty concurrence of the delegates, that 
they would be pleased to join in this testi- 
monial to Mr. Warren. In every possible 
way he assisted me in securing the signa- 
tures of all the delegates from Indiana. 
From that time our acquaintance ripened 
into friendship which I am sure will last 
through eternity. We were together in our 
unique trip to Corinth; in the trips to 
Jerusalem and much of the time spent in 
Jerusalem. 



JOSIAH MORRLS 145 

The day following our Hebron trip, 
through the courtesy of "Jacob," of the 
American Colony, I was invited to bring 
my friend Morris to dinner — noon — at their 
house, not far from the Damascus Gate. 
Here we met the "Americans," as they call 
themselves, under their own roof, at their 
own table. The simple grace they sang at 
the meal impressed me greatly. I copy it 
here ; 

''God is great and God is good, 
And we thank him for this food; 
By his hand must all be fed; 
Give tis, Lord, oiir daily bread." 

Mrs. Vester, whose husband is in charge 
of the store, presided at the dinner and suc- 
ceeded in making her guests at home at 
once. She is the daughter of H. G. Spafford, 
deceased. He was the author of the well- 
known hymn, "It is Well with My Soul." 
His widow, I take it, is the virtual head of 
the colony in the city, though we were in- 
formed that they have no organization, and 
10 



140 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 

do not acknowledge anyone as their leader 
excepting Jesus Christ. 

We inquired what they did in case of im- 
morality or insubordination in the colony. 
They said they labored with the offender as 
directed in Matt, xviii, 15-17, and thus 
far had maintained perfect discipline, and 
they believed that this practical exem- 
plification of the teachings of Jesus was 
having great influence in Jerusalem in com- 
mending Christianity to the people. Both 
Mr. Morris and myself were impressed with 
their sincerity, and that they were aiming 
to be " epistles indeed, read and known of all 
men." 

In one respect at least they are a magnif- 
icent contrast to the custom so prevalent in 
Jerusalem of "backsheesh" for all service 
rendered. For the courtesy shown us they 
positively refused to accept financial remu- 
neration. Mr. William H. Rudy gave us 
the whole afternoon, guiding us to the 
Mosque of Omar, to Solomon's stables and 



JOSIAH MORRIS 149 

quarries, the Pool of Bethescla, and else- 
where, and would not accept a penny. 

The Mosque of Omar is magnificence in 
the highest sense of that word. There was 
the very rock on which Abraham laid Isaac 
when he was about to slay him in sacrifice. 
From it Mohammed is believed by the Mos- 
lems to have ascended to heaven. Here 
we saw the Mohammedans at worship, a 
most interesting spectacle. They stood in 
a long: row. and on signal from their leader 
would prostrate themselves to the ground, 
going through this service again and again, 
with a precision that was military in its ex- 
actness. When bowed together they resem- 
bled windrows of devotees, and while we 
pitied them for their slavish adherence to 
the forms of religious worship Ave admired 
them for their fidelity to conviction. 

My Quaker friend seemed impressed with 
all he saw, and was constantly watching for 
something to illustrate Scripture passages— 
with which he was so familiar, as to fill me 



150 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 

with amazement. He seemed able to quote 
more Bible than any other person I ever 
met. I had simply to begin a verse in the 
Bible and he would repeat the verse to the 
end of the chapter. It was through his 
habit of watching for everything that would 
throw light on the Scriptures that I wit- 
nessed an illustration of Luke vi, 38 : " Give, 
and it shall be given unto you; good meas- 
ure, pressed down, and shaken together, and 
running over, shall men give into your 
bosom. For with the same measure that 
ye mete withal it shall be measured to 
you again." A grain merchant was selling 
some barley to a woman who waited with 
sack open to receive it from the measure he 
was filling for her. The measure resembled 
one of our peck measures. First, with his 
hands he scooped in the barley to the top, 
then shook it, then put in more barley, 
pressing it down, putting in more, again 
pressing it down, adding more, until the top 
of the measure resembled a cone or pyramid 



JOSIAH MORRIS 151 

Then he struck out a hollow in the cone and 
rilled it once more to the apex, and when 
the measure would not hold another kernel, 
he poured its contents into the sack, his face 
wearing the appearance of benignity and 
cheerfulness, and hers the utmost pleasure 
at his generosity. He might have thrown 
the grain in loosely, he might have used the 
straight edge and thus reduced the quantity, 
and the trade would have been called "a 
fair deal." But no: with great generous- 
heartedness he gave a practical illustration 
of our Lord's instructions, good for all men, 
for all time, everywhere. 

The world should have done with the 
phrases "business is business;" "no friend- 
ship in trade. " For evermore it will be true 
that "the liberal soul shall be made fat," 
and all the blessings of heaven and earth 
shall be the heritage of the generous man. 



152 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 



CHAPTER XIV 

The Donkeys of Jerusalem 

If it seems strange that I should descend 
from the sublime to the ridiculous it will be 
borne in mind that such is life, not only in 
Jerusalem, but everywhere. We must not 
alone laugh at the donkey, we must admire 
him. With ears out of all proportion to his 
body, and belly in plethoric contrast to his 
slender legs, he is, nevertheless, the funniest, 
most useful creature in Palestine. In Jeru- 
salem he appears the most numerous and 
consequential of all its inhabitants. He is 
the street railway company of Jerusalem. 
There he is concentrated. There he is dis- 
tributed. Must you be carried around the 
walls of Jerusalem — about three miles? 
There he is at your service. Are your 
spirits morbid and glum, so you cannot 
think of a thing to excite the risibilities of 



THE DONKEYS OF JERUSALEM 153 

your heavy humor into a high state of 
laughability? At once the donkey be- 
comes your comedian. In a moment least 
expected, in season and out of season, it 
occurs to him to bray. Not until I visited 
Palestine, particularly Jerusalem, did I have 
proper conception of the donkey's bray. 
You may be on his back, or standing near 
him, or seated in the congregation at church 
—in a moment you would least think of 
such an occurrence he commences the per- 
formance which throughout the world is 
known as a bray. Putting his feet in a posi- 
tion to preserve his equilibrium, he begins 
to fill his small body with air until it is dis- 
tended out of all proportion, the process 
accompanied with a distressing asthmatic 
wheeze, and as it proceeds the sound be- 
comes louder, even painful, and you begin 
to feel a sense of pity and sorrow for the 
poor donkey 's pain ; but the pain was not 
real, it was only apparent. He was not 
suffering. He was in the happy stage 



154 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 

of showing you that in all the world an- 
other equally laughable performance cannot 
occur. More and more does the wheez- 
ing go on — more and more do his long 
ears droop as if he were struck with the 
pain of physical dissolution, and then sud- 
denly the wheeze becomes a blare, like the 
sound of a thousand trumpets, and the blare 
metamorphoses into a bray, the drooping 
ears are elevated to their proper place, the 
distressed nostrils regain their normal pla- 
cidity, and with a twinkle in his eyes, more 
human than otherwise, the donkey seems to 
say to you: " Did you ever before hear the 
equal of that?" 

Miss Ackerman, an exceedingly bright 
lecturer on the ship, who had been around 
the world six times, tells her experience 
with the donkey in Jerusalem. A gentle- 
man from the South, with legs longer than 
the average, invited her to a donkey ride 
around the walls of the city. He engaged 
a large donkey for her, and for himself one 



THE DONKEYS OF JERUSALEM 155 

of the smallest he could select. After they 
were started she observed that his feet were 
on the ground much of the time and pres- 
ently his donkey, relieved of his load of 
Southern masculinity, innocently went off, 
leaving him the delightful exercise of walk- 
ing. "Wait! wait!" he cried. "Stop my 
horse! He's left me! Don't go without 
me." It was too much for one with her 
acute sense of the ludicrous, and as she took 
in the whole scope of the picture — that dis- 
tressed man trying to overtake the donkey, 
and the animal, the very personification of 
innocency and guilelessness — she laughed 
and laughed and laughed again, declaring 
to herself that never before in her tours 
around the world had she seen an episode 
like that ! 

Josh Billings said: " The mule is the only 
bird I know of that has its wings on the side 
of its head." But what can be said of the 
donkey that does not suggest that this little 
creature was born to be more than a burden- 



150 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 

bearer, more than the most useful of ani- 
mals ; in short, to represent all that is absurd 
and comical in human nature and besides to 
picture to us the judge whose reputation 
depends on his ability to look wise, and to 
transform the tedious routine of burden- 
bearing into a constant opportunity to get 
the funniest, most comical things into one's 
experience however much of drudgery may 
enter into our appointed lot? O ye don- 
keys of Jerusalem, go on, in the round of 
your earthly existence, teaching us the 
grand lesson that from our every burden we 
can extract solace, and that all the disap- 
pointments and bitternesses of life may be 
made to glow with the radiance and sparkle 
of sweet, glad sunshine and blessing! 



MY vSUNDAY IN JERUSALEM 157 



CHAPTER XV 

My Sunday in Jerusalem 

The Sabbath of the Bible, with the true 
interpretation of it, given by Jesus in the 
words "The Sabbath was made for man," 
is the greatest boon ever conferred on man- 
kind. It would be sad indeed for the world 
were there not this day of rest and sacred 
influence which we call the holy Sabbath. 

" Day of all the week the best; 
Emblem of eternal rest." 

I was glad, therefore, when they said to 
me on that Sabbath morning, April 17, 1904, 
" Let us go up unto the house of the Lord." 
The services were held in the great tent 
which Mr. Clark, our manager, had put up 
but a little distance from Gordon's Calvary. 
It was filled with an expectant congregation 
who had convened to listen to the preacher 
of the morning, Rev. Dr. William Sinclair, 



158 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 

Archdeacon of London. His sermon was 
most carefully prepared and gave great 
satisfaction. It was appropriate, Scriptur- 
al, and full of historical information. The 
preacher scarcely looked at his manuscript 
during the discourse. I think he showed 
good judgment in having the written manu- 
script in his hands for such an important 
occasion. Though I do not use the written 
sermon in preaching, and recall the names 
of some great preachers who preach memo- 
riter, without a scrap of paper before them, 
that is not to be taken seriously to their 
credit, for such preaching is, after all, parrot 
like, and I may be pardoned for calling it 
very slavish. The whole sermon must nec- 
essarily be completed before it is spoken, 
and does not permit the free play of thought 
and fancy necessary to the highest effect 
when the speaker is supposed to catch in- 
spiration from his audience and from the 
occasion. It seems to me more frank and 
manly in the preacher to take his congrega- 



MY SUNDAY IN JERUSALEM 159 

tion into his confidence, and unhesitatingly 
say to them: " I have prepared this sermon 
with great care. I have it here completely 
written. I may read all of it or portions of 
it, and I want you to listen ; for I bring you 
a message worth your hearing." Dr. Sin- 
clair had such a message, and it did not 
take long for his congregation to under- 
stand that fact. 

At four o'clock p. m. there was a celebra- 
tion of the Lord's Supper, in which nearly 
one thousand persons united. Rev. Dr. 
John Potts was in charge, assisted by 
twenty-five pastors of whom I felt honored 
to be one. Before the bread and wine were 
distributed Rev. Dr. Monroe Gibson, of 
London, gave an address which, for ap- 
propriateness and impressiveness, I have 
never heard excelled; using the objects all 
about us to illustrate his address. He con- 
ducted us as in a panorama from the upper 
pool of Gihon to the lower one, thence past 
the "Hill of Evil Counsel," where Judas 



100 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 



planned the betrayal of his Lord ; down the 
Valley of Hinnom, through Gehenna and 
Tophet to Joab's Well, at the conjunction 
of the Valley of Hinnom with the Valley of 
Jehoshaphat ; then up the Brook Kidron to 
the Pool of Siloam, then to Gethsemane 
and at last to Calvary. In this brief survey 
he pictured how sin had led humanity down 
and down, from one stage of degradation to 
another, until man was a complete ruin, 
with no health or soundness in his moral 
nature. When he could descend no lower, 
when he was without God and without hope 
in the world, Calvary, with its bleeding vic- 
tim, gave deliverance perfect and universal ; 
for he died for all, "to save to the utter- 
most all who should come unto God by him. ' ' 

" Thou dying Lamb, thy precious blood 
Shall never lose its power; 
Till all the ransomed Church of God 
Are saved to sin no more." 

Sunday evening there was a great con- 
gregation to listen to addresses from the 



MY SUNDAY IN JERUSALEM 161 

Bishop of Jerusalem, the United States Con- 
sul, Dr. John Potts, Rev. Mr. Brooks, pas- 
tor of St. Stephen's Methodist Episcopal 
Church, Chicago, and others. It was a very 
enthusiastic meeting. The speeches most 
worthy of mention were those of the consul, 
Dr. Potts, and Rev. Mr. Brooks. Dr. Potts 
spoke on what the Church through its Sun- 
day schools is doing for childhood, and he 
was very entertaining. When it came Mr. 
Brooks's turn he gracefully referred to the 
honor put upon the colored people by giving 
him a place among the speakers of the 
evening, particularly as so many of his 
white brethren were far more able than he. 
He then struck the keynote of the conven- 
tion by saying that the only thing that 
would elevate his race and give it its true 
place among the races of the world was 
righteousness ; the black man only deserved 
the reward of right doing, right living — in 
short, righteousness. 

His address carried the audience to a high 
11 



162 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 

pitch of excitement, and all fairly went wild 
in the applause. Three women in the seat 
in front of mine were thrown into hysteria, 
and my Quaker friend, Morris, clapped his 
hands in an effervescence of enthusiasm. I 
said to him, " What's the matter ? " " Mat- 
ter enough , " he said ; ' ' he 's beat Potts . " He 
seemed to think that was the greatest glory 
Brooks could have won. Well, blessings 
on my Indiana friend! He takes the part 
of the under dog in the fight, and when he 
saw Brooks, whom he had befriended ever 
since our ship left New York, capturing the 
greatest applause of that meeting, even 
"beating Potts," as he affirmed, he was 
actually beside himself with joy. 

The World's Fourth Sunday School Con- 
vention, beginning Sunday, April 17, con- 
tinued during the eighteenth and nine- 
teenth. It was replete with interest. For the 
full report I refer my readers to the " Offi- 
cial Report of the Cruise," which is to con- 
tain stenographic reports of all the lectures, 



MY SUNDAY IN JERUSALEM 163 

sermons, addresses, etc., including the con- 
vention, from the time we left New York, 
March S, until our return. May 19. The 
Sunday school " idea ' ' was made very prom- 
inent, not only during the great convention, 
but in the sessions of the Sunday school 
during the cruise. I give here the statistics 
of the Worlds Fourth Sunday School Con- 
vention, Jerusalem, April 17, 18, 19, 1904: 



United States 

Jerusalem 

England 

Palestine 

Canada 

Scotland 

Turkey in Asia 

Ireland 

Japan 

Wales, 5: India. 5; Mexico, 5 

Bulgaria, 3; Egypt. 3; Russia, t. . 

Switzerland. 3: Denmark, 2 

Turkey in Europe 

Australia. 2; West Indies, 2 

Austria. 1 : Germany. 1: Madeira. 1 

Newfoundland. 

Sovith Africa ... 

New Zealand 



701 

377 
206 



3 1 
19 



1 1 



3 
4 
3 



6 



Total 



Countries represented, twenty-rive (25). 



1.526 



104 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 

Denomination 

Church of England 231 

Presbyterian 199 

Other Presbyterian bodies 22 

Baptists 178 

Other Baptist bodies 10 

Congrega ti onal 177 

Methodist Episcopal 174 

Other Methodist bodies 60 

Greek Orthodox 43 

Lutheran 32 

Friends 28 

Thirty-four other bodies 175 

Not mentioned 197 

Total. . 1,526 

Classification 

Pastors 157 

Superintendents 179 

Teachers 379 

Missionaries 31 

Not specified 780 

Total . 1,526 

Miles Traveled 

United States 70 1 , average 16,000 = 11,216,000 

England 206, " 6,000 = 1,236,000 

Others 157, " 11,000 = 1,727,000 

Total , 14,179,000 

Days in Jerusalem 

United States 701, average 9 = 6,309 

England 206, " 7 '— i,44 2 

Others 157, " 9 = 1,413 

Total 9,164 



MY SUNDAY IN JERUSALEM 165 

Suggested Place 
for the World's Fifth Convention: 814 votes for 77 places 



in 26 countries. 

Toronto >: 133 

Chicago. : 84 

Rome 77 

Washington, D. C 74 

London 52 

San Francisco 49 

New York city 36 

Melbourne 23 

Japan 22 

Los Angeles 20 

Boston 19 

Edinburgh 16 

Vancouver 15 

Other places 194 

Total 814 



166 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 



CHAPTER XVI 

Walking About Zion 

The day before I left Jerusalem I went 
over the route described by Dr. Gibson in 
his sacramental address. Meeting my table 
companion at the Notre Dame, Mr. Spryer, 
of Pittsburg, accompanied by an intelligent 
guide, I asked if it would be an intrusion for 
me to join him, and he seemed glad that I 
asked the favor. Commencing at lower 
Gihon we went substantially over all the 
physical ground described by Dr. Gibson. 
I had no idea it would be so interesting nor 
did I dream it would be so far. The walk 
was fully seven miles. I will not speak 
descriptively of the places seen in this stroll, 
though I must say that the Valley of Hin- 
nom is suggestive of those dark events 
recorded in the New Testament. There 
was Judas on the hillside counseling to 



WALKING ABOUT ZION 167 



betray Jesus; there was the place where 
stood the tree from whose limbs he hung 
himself; below that was Aceldama, or the 
Field of Blood; there was unquestionably 
the very Pool of Siloam where the blind man 
washed and was cured of his blindness. We 
passed the tombs of Hezekiah and Absalom, 
and then Gethsemane, whose tragedy of 
mental suffering and sorrow has never been 
paralleled. I could hear the heartrending 
words, " Father, if it be possible let this 
cup pass from me; nevertheless, thy will, 
not mine, be done. ' ' And then he went the 
Way of Sorrow, carrying the load of the 
world's sin, was nailed to the accursed tree, 
and on the cross of Calvary poured out his 
life's blood for you and me and for all man- 
kind. 

As I had previously visited Calvary from 
Gethsemane, we went up to the top of the 
Mount of Olives, stopping first to see the 
shrine where there are thirty-two transla- 
tions of our Lord's Prayer, and as I viewed 



168 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 

each and all of these translations I could 
well understand why it was named " the 
universal prayer." At last we came to the 
place from which tradition says Jesus as- 
cended. Whether so or not, I could well 
invest the spot with all the accompani- 
ments of that glorious event. I could see 
the look of triumph on his face as he 
rose from that mountain height to the 
higher summits of that glory land to which 
he has promised to bring us at last, that 
we may be with him and behold his glory 
forever ! 

Tuesday morning, April 19, before leav- 
ing the city I walked the Emmaus road 
with my friend Morris, and our hearts, too, 
burned within us as the risen, glorified, and 
ever-present Jesus talked with us by the way 
and opened unto us the Scriptures. We 
had new meanings of the life, the sufferings, 
the death, resurrection, ascension, and char- 
acter of our Saviour since visiting the places 
made forever sacred by his presence, his 



WALKING ABOUT ZION 169 

teachings, and, best of all, his death on the 
cross for the sins of the world. 

"In the cross of Christ I glory, 

Towering o'er the wrecks of time; 
All the light of ancient story 

Gathers round its head sublime " 



170 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 



CHAPTER XVII 

44 Living Water 99 

I cannot bid adieu to Jerusalem without 
devoting a chapter to the subject of the 
"living water." In my judgment it is the 
supreme question, so far as the future 
welfare of the city is concerned. Water, 
good, pure, healthful water, is the one cry- 
ing need of Jerusalem. At the dining 
tables and the drinking fountains the visitor 
repeatedly exclaims, " I would be willing to 
give a fortune for a drink of good water." 
But that wish is never gratified. The so- 
called imported water, whose enchantment 
consists in the distance it has been brought, 
is a weariness and a disappointment to the 
thirsty man. Its sweetness, if it ever had 
any, has departed from it forever, and the 
anxious question arises: Will this thirsty, 
dirty Jerusalem ever again be "the city of 



LIVING WATER " 



171 



fountains," as when the famous pools of 
Solomon were sending to Mount Zion, "the 
streams which made glad the city of God 1 '? 
Yes, that time will come. Jerusalem will 
be restored to its former glory. The civili- 
zation of the twentieth century is affecting 
even Jerusalem in its mighty evolutions. 
Jerusalem shall again be a "city of foun- 
tains," and its citizens, and all visitors, shall 
drink of its sweet, beautiful water. Do you 
ask how this shall be? I do not know; but 
I am confident that it will surely come to 
pass. 

A gentleman whose friendship I have 
formed on the Grosser Kurfiirst, Mr. J. A. 
Stevenson, of London, Canada, is fertile in 
ideas and plans which concern the ameliora- 
tion of social conditions. He is a member 
of a large manufacturing company, a mem- 
ber of the Methodist Church of Canada, and 
practices the rule of giving not simply one 
tenth of his income to the Lord, but one 
fifth. His wife is a Presbyterian, loyal to 



172 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 

her own Church, and the two denominations 
conjoined in that family make a most happy 
combination. Arminianism and Calvinism 
go hand in hand together, as it has been 
from the beginning until now, and it seems 
foreordained that so it ever shall be. Free 
grace and free will are inseparably joined in 
theological wedlock and must walk together 
through time and eternity, even though at 
times they have disagreed in a spirit more 
acrimonious than heavenly. It is no reflec- 
tion on the family of our President Roose- 
velt that he is a member of the Reformed 
Church and Mrs. Roosevelt is an Episco- 
palian. It rather demonstrates the fact 
that each has opinions and does not care to 
surrender them. And, after all, is not 
bigotry a horrid bugaboo — a goblin most 
unlovely of face and mien? Is not the 
reader ashamed of himself for having cher- 
ished prejudices and uncharitable thoughts 
toward those differing from him in doc- 
trine or church relations? If I ever enter- 



< LIVING WATER 



173 



tained them they have disappeared forever ; 
I have seen much on the Grosser Kurjurst 
to teach me that a man is not to be meas- 
ured by his creed, or by his Church, but 
by the one crucial question, "Is he a Jesus 
Christ man?" Has he the spirit of Jesus 
Christ? 

Abraham admitted a stranger to his tent 
to be entertained for the night, and when 
the stranger said to Abraham, " I do not 
acknowledge thy God, nor do I serve him," 
Abraham was angry and sent him out to 
find shelter where he might. Then God 
appeared to Abraham and said, " Where is 
the stranger ? ' ' And Abraham replied that 
for love of God he had turned him away 
because he refused to worship God. And 
the Almighty said: " Have I not borne with 
him these eighty years? Couldst thou not 
bear with him one night? Go and bring 
him back." And Abraham recalled him, 
and gave him the best hospitality his tent 
afforded. 



174 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 

The dearest friendships I have formed on 
the Grosser Kurf first are with men whose 
denominationalism is quite divergent from 
mine; but greater, far greater than the de- 
nominations by which they were named 
were the men themselves. There was my 
roommate at the Grand Continental Hotel, 
Cairo, Egypt, Rev. Robert F. Sample, D.D., 
LL.D., ex-Moderator of the General Assem- 
bly of the Presbyterian Church. He is also 
an author of note, having written Beacon 
Lights of the Reformation, Christ's Val- 
edictory, etc. He is confirmed in his 
Presbyterianism, and is serenely confident 
that the theology of his Church was fash- 
ioned, formed, and finished in the decrees of 
eternity. But I found him an up-to-date, 
courtly gentleman. He was quite ill dur- 
ing our stay together, but he bore his suf- 
ferings with such patience and gentleness 
that I saw in him the true marks of 
the Lord Jesus. I feel prompted to in- 
sert here one of his recent poetical effu- 



" LIVING WATER 



sions, which I am sure my readers will 
preciate : 

Waiting for the Morning 

" Jesus, my Lord, I'll wait for thee 

Until the morning. 
I'm weary of this world of sin, 
Its strife and toil and noisy din, 
Its race wherein few ever win: 
Yet I would bear the cross for thee 

Until the morning. 

" Jesus, my Lord, I'll wait for thee 

Until the morning. 
Some day my sun will seek its rest, 
Strange glory lingering in the west 
While sparrows hie them to their nest. 
And stars shine o'er the wide, wide sea 

Until the morning. 

"Jesus, my Lord, I'll wait for thee 

Until the morning. 
I'll meet lost friends when night is o'er, 
Where we shall part no more, no more, 
And love as once in days of yore— 
But sweeter far thy face to see 

In heaven's morning. 

" 'Twill not be long; time hastens by — ■ 

Until the morning. 
This life's a span, its course soon run; 
Its work will all be quickly done; 
E'en now we hear the signal gun; 
And, night gone by, I'll upward fly 

In God's glad morning." 



170 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 

Then there is my Quaker friend, Josiah 
Morris, of Indiana, of whom I have written 
at length; Dr. John Malone, of Newberry, 
N. Y., a devout Catholic, a skillful, cour- 
teous, sympathizing physician, a man whose 
intelligence of mind and goodness of heart 
would cause him to be selected for a friend 
out of a thousand men; and lastly I name 
the gentleman par excellence, Mr. J. A. 
Stevenson, to whose inspired idea for the 
improvement of Jerusalem I must devote 
the balance of this chapter. He is my op- 
posite at table in the dining saloon of the 
Grosser Kurf first. I soon perceived him to 
be a servant of the Lord in deed and truth, 
ever asking the question, " Lord, what wilt 
thou have me to do ? " Could he be in Jeru- 
salem a fortnight and not devise a plan to 
give pure water in abundance to that city? 
This is his proposition : let Christian America 
in the spirit of Jesus Christ restore to the 
Pools of Solomon their pristine glory of 
supplying Mount Zion with living water. 



" LIVING WATER 



177 



A partial attempt has been made in this 
direction, some water has been connected 
with the city from the spring near those 
fountains, but there is not an abundant 
supply to make glad the homes of all the 
people. The springs are there, the reser- 
voirs are there, the opportunity is there to 
send into Jerusalem millions of gallons of 
water which shall refresh the entire city as 
from the rivers of God. This is my friend 
Stevenson's idea, and it can be made prac- 
tical if Christian America, including Canada, 
says it shall be done. The Sultan's permis- 
sion could undoubtedly be secured, the 
money to accomplish the work can be raised 
when once it is universally understood that 
it is to be a free gift to Jerusalem in the 
name and for the glory of Jesus Christ. And 
this would be missionary work transcending 
any other, and do more to convert the peo- 
ple of that city and Palestine than any 
other method which has been proposed. 

Mr. Stevenson will give a liberal subscrip- 
12 



178 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 

tion, and feels confident that many others in 
America and England will give large 
amounts of money to achieve a consumma- 
tion so "devoutly to be wished." 

But more than all else does Jerusalem 
need Him who said, " If any man thirst, let 
him come unto me and drink" living water; 
" the water that I shall give him shall be in 
him a well of water springing up into ever- 
lasting life. " 



EGYPT, ALEXANDRIA, CAIRO 179 



CHAPTER XVIII 
Egypt, Alexandria, Cairo 

"Out of Egypt have I called my son" 
is the prophet Hosea's reference to the 
departure of Jesus from Egypt, whither he 
had been taken by his parents to escape the 
purpose of Herod to " slay all the children 
of Bethlehem, and all the coasts thereof, 
from two years old and under." "But 
when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of 
the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in 
Egypt, saying, Arise, and take the young 
child and his mother, and go into the land 
of Israel; for they are dead which sought 
the young child's life." 

How real and impressive it all seemed to 
me as I visited the place, near Heliopolis, 
where Joseph and Mary resided during their 
stay in Egypt. And what attractions 
Egypt has in its antiquities, in its monu- 



180 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 

ments erected thousands of years before 
the birth of our Saviour; in its Nile, rivaling 
the mighty Amazon and even our Missis- 
sippi ; but chiefly as the theater of -some of 
the most momentous events recorded in the 
Bible, both in the Old Testament and the 
New. Here Moses was born, and most 
providentially saved from death by the 
daughter of the same Pharaoh who had 
" charged all his people, saying, Every son 
that is born ye shall cast into the river." 
How noticeable it is that Moses, who was 
to be Israel's deliverer, and Jesus, the Sav- 
iour who was to redeem Israel and the whole 
world from spiritual bondage, were both 
appointed to die by the edict of kings. And 
in all history is anything more interesting 
than the story of Joseph, who married 
Asenath, daughter of the Egyptian priest of 
On; of Jacob and his sons in Egypt and 
their occupancy of Goshen, " the best of all 
the land of Egypt ; " of the growth of their 
progeny until they grew too numerous to 



EGYPT, ALEXANDRIA, CAIRO 183 

be permitted to remain in the land; and of 
how, under God, Moses led them out, 
through the Red Sea, with many signs and 
wonders, into the Land of Promise? 

Our Saviour's brief sojourn in Egypt was 
long enough to make that land forever at- 
tractive to all lovers of the Bible and of 
Him whom the Bible exalts as King of kings 
and Lord of lords. Well did the angel of 
the Lord say to Joseph, " They are dead 
which sought the young child's life." 
Herod was dead, and Jesus goes back into 
Israel's land, and afterward, when the peo- 
ple of that land rejected him and then 
crucified him, they had no power to hold 
him in the grave ; no weapon formed against 
him could prosper. He that was " crucified, 
dead, and buried," rose again, exultantly 
exclaiming: "I am he that liveth and was 
dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, 
Amen; and have the keys of hell and of 
death." 

Yes, " they are dead which sought the 



184 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 

young child's life." Out of Egypt comes 
this message to all men, for all time; and if 
for no other reason the friends of Jesus may 
rejoice that no form of persecution, however 
cruel or protracted, can destroy their Lord. 
In the words of the psalm the Lord's people 
may say: "Why do the heathen rage, and 
the people imagine a vain thing? The 
kings of the earth set themselves, and the 
rulers take counsel together, against the 
Lord and against his Anointed, saying, Let 
us break their bands asunder, and cast away 
their cords from us. He that sitteth in the 
heavens shall laugh; the Lord shall have 
them in derision." "So let all thine ene- 
mies perish, O Lord : but let them that love 
him be as the sun when he goeth forth in his 
might." 

According to the plan of our itinerary we 
should have landed in Alexandria April 22, 
to remain in Egypt five days and six hours ; 
but we reached the city a day sooner and 
took the train for Cairo, as the bubonic 




Cairo. — Mosque of Mohammed Ali, or Alabaster Mosque. Arab 
Woman. Ezbekiyeh Gardens. 



EGYPT, ALEXANDRIA, CAIRO 187 

plague was raging in Alexandria. While 
we were disappointed in not being driven 
about the city founded 332 years before 
Christ in honor of Alexander the Great; 
where the Septuagint was made, and where 
the only monument we saw was the famous 
Pompey's Pillar — we were not sorry to get 
away from the pestilence as quickly as 
possible. An Alexandria daily paper which 
I purchased stated that of the 426 stricken 
with it to that date, April 21, 368 had died— 
a sadly large percentage of fatalities. 

We arrived in Cairo on Thursday evening 
in time for dinner. The distance from 
Alexandria is one hundred and thirty-three 
miles. The cars were the best we had seen 
since we left America, as most of the service 
elsewhere had seemed quite behind the age. 
It fell to me to be assigned to the Grand 
Continental Hotel, one of the largest and 
best in the city, and by far the best at 
which I have stopped thus far on our trip. 
The rooms, the table, and the entire service 



188 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 

were of the best. The rates per day are 
four dollars in winter, three dollars in sum- 
mer. The Thezerieh Palace, built at a cost 
of ten million dollars by the father of the 
present Khedive of Egypt, is probably the 
most beautiful hotel in Cairo. The Khe- 
dive became bankrupt in building it, and 
Great Britain, to whom he had mortgaged 
it, foreclosed, and is now leasing it, for a 
hotel. I visited it and was charmed with 
all its appointments, including its beautiful 
gardens. I thought of the one mentioned 
in Scripture " who began to build and was 
not able to finish." 

We all visited the pyramid of Gizeh and 
the Sphinx; old Cairo, and the Nilometer, 
near which Moses was found in the ark of 
bulrushes; Heliopolis, with its obelisk five 
thousand years old, one of the most inter- 
esting monuments in the world. It was in 
Heliopoli s — ancient On , that Asenathbecame 
the wife of Joseph, the savior of Jacob and 
his family, and of Egypt as well, during 



EGYPT, ALEXANDRIA, CAIRO 180 

those seven years of awful famine. As far 
as my eyes could compass the picture it 
formed the most beautiful area of country 
I had ever seen. Eleusis, the Plain of Es- 
draelon, the vale of Sharon, all were forgot- 
ten in the golden charms of "the best part 
of all the land of Egypt ; ' ' the best that can 
be seen in this world. 

Several made the trip up the Nile to 
Memphis and the pyramids of Sakara, but 
as this required a donkey ride of several 
miles I did not go. No more horseback 
riding for me on this trip. No riding of 
donkeys, mules, or camels for me! My 
friend, Judge Martin, of Little Rock, Ark., 
made the trip to Sakara, mounted his don- 
key with the utmost confidence, and had 
not gone far when down went the donkey, 
throwing the judge head foremost into the 
sand. He plunged in to such a depth that 
it was some time before he pulled himself 
out, and when he did he beheld his donkey 
lying, apparently dead, with its head under 



190 



THE BOOK AND THE LAND 



its body. "Shades of Caesar!" he cried: 
"have I killed that poor creature?" when, 

lo, the donkey's 
head came from its 
hiding place and he 
stood sympathizing- 
ly before the judge 
with a pitiful expres- 
sion in his eye, as 
much as to say, 
"Poor man! Were 
you hurt? Can I 
help you any ? ' ' The 
judge remounted the 
animal and lived to 
tell me the story of 
his adventure. Rev. 




Along the Nile. 



Mr. Flocken, of New Bedford, Mass., said 
he rode the donkey fifteen miles, in making 
the trip, and had no desire to repeat it. 



THE vSHIP OF THE DESERT 191 



CHAPTER XIX 

The Ship of the Desert 

Every reader knows the meaning of the 
title of this chapter. I had seen the camel 
at Algiers, at Ephesus, at Joppa, and at 
Jerusalem, but not until I reached Cairo did 
I appreciate the phrase " Ship of the desert. ' ' 
There were the camels in far greater num- 
bers than I had seen them at all the other 
places put together. Besides those natu- 
rally belonging to Cairo they were coming 
into the city from their march of hundreds 
of miles over desert sands. Their faces 
bore an expression of gratification that their 
long journey was ended and for the time- 
being their backs would be relieved from 
the heavy burdens. And what loads they 
carry! Hundreds of pounds' weight of all 
describable and indescribable articles. As 
we drove to the pyramids of Gizeh numbers 



192 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 

of them passed us laden with great bundles 
of newly cut clover fastened upon their 
backs like saddlebags ; others carried crates 
of stone to be use for building purposes, 
and still others were carrying possibly 
thousands of feet of lumber. The thing 
that amazed me most was that, stout and 
strong as they are, they were strong enough 
to endure the strain of such colossal bur- 
dens. I was surprised to learn that a good 
camel could be purchased for from forty to 
seventy-five dollars. The donkeys are ten 
dollars each. 

But why should I particularize concern- 
ing the camel? His life is not harder than 
the life of a man. How often those seem- 
ingly more highly favored than others are 
bearing burdens almost unendurable. The 
more successful merchants are slaves to 
their counters; the banker, whose position 
is coveted, sits or stands behind defenses 
almost like a garrison, to protect him from 
the intrusion and assault of the designing 



THE vSHIP OF THE DESERT 193 



robber who watches his opportunity to 
despoil him of his treasures. Was ever 
life in prison more punitive than that? 
The only difference is that the banker can 
leave his place of confinement, but prefers 
it rather, and the convict cannot escape his 
enforced servitude. Men in the professions, 
ministers, doctors, lawyers, and others, win 
wealth and fame, but often at what a price! 
Health, domestic happiness, leisure, the 
quiet hour, sacrificed in the hot chase — for 
what? Would it not be well for us all to 
learn the true meaning of "success"? I 
do not mean by these reflections to dis- 
courage industry, enterprise, thrift, push, 
and the "eternal vigilance" which is the 
price of liberty. Far from it. I have no 
patience with the man who has no ambition, 
no backbone, no strenuous purpose, no lofty 
aim in life, who, Micawber like, is always 
"waiting for something to turn up"; but 
there is a more excellent way than sense- 
less rush, insane hurry, asinine craving for 

13 



194 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 

fame, for great riches. There is such a thing 
as being one's own judge as to what is right 
and true and successful. A contented mind 
is a perpetual feast. Godliness with con- 
tentment is great gain. " I have learned," 
said one of the greatest of men, " in what- 
soever state I am, there with to be content." 

One of the most practical illustrations I 
ever saw of the littleness and vanity of 
power and fame was in the great museum 
in Cairo. I looked at the mummies of 
Rameses II and III, the oppressors of 
Israel, and in the same museum, not far 
away, were their embalmed or mummified 
cats. I said to myself: A cat is of just as 
much importance as a king when a few 
years have put in their work. The cat that 
catches mice is of as much consequence as 
his owner when only a few more decades 
have passed away. 

I will not leave Egypt without men- 
tioning the sermon I heard the Sunday 
morning we spent in Cairo. The preacher 



THE SHIP OF THE DESERT 



195 



was the Rev. Dr. W. L. Watkinson, of 
England, who had represented British Meth- 
odism at the Sunday School Convention in 
Jerusalem. We parted company with him 
and the other British delegates at Cairo. 
The committee wisely selected him to 
preach on that Sabbath morning. He is 
a most able man, reminding one of Ralph 
Waldo Emerson; the type of thinker one 
xarely meets, 



196 



THE BOOK AND THE LAND 



CHAPTER XX 
Naples, Pompeii 

Our entrance into the bay and harbor of 
Naples was an exasperation. 

Our good ship came to anchor before 
noon, April 28. There before our eyes was 
the beautiful city, and high above it tow- 
ered Vesuvius, from whose summit streams 
of smoke issued and vanished in the clouds. 
On account of our visit to Alexandria 
where the bubonic plague prevailed, our 
ship was placed under quarantine and each 
member of our delegation must be inspected 
by the health officer of Naples. After 
luncheon all the passengers were sent to 
the aft upper deck, crossing the bridge in 
single file, thus giving the officer a good 
opportunity to look us in the face. It was 
a tedious process, and we were glad enough 
when the announcement was made that we 



Naples— Strada Del Molo and St. Elmo's Castle. The Bay of Naples. 



NAPLES, POMPEII 



199 



were "all right," and at sundown the 
quarantine was declared off. But the day 
was gone, and you can imagine that we 
experienced the sensations of Tantalus. 
There was Xaples and we were in the ship. 
I forbear further comparison. Even saints 
sometimes get provoked. Moses at Meri- 
bah, for example! 

Friday morning we had early breakfast 
for a carriage drive through the city. First 
the Museum — all seem alike to me — then 
the Aquarium. The Aquarium at the 
Pan-American seems to have been modeled 
after this one. I could not tell the differ- 
ence. 

It would be impossible to describe Xaples. 
It is easy to speak of its population of half 
a million people, its magnificent buildings, 
its proximity to Vesuvius and the exquisite 
setting of the city against the bay, but to 
describe Xaples is quite another thing. 
" See Xaples and die" is a trite saying with 
which we are all familiar. The more one 



200 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 

thinks of it the more we are led to ask what 
other city remains to be seen possessing 
equal charm of location, environment, and 
historiological enchantment ? Think of be- 
ing in the city where Virgil wrote his 
^Eneid, and where his villa and tomb are 
still pointed out; where Cicero lived and 
wrote, where Dante got his conceptions of 
his immortal " Inferno ;" and beyond all 
this, where St. Paul stopped on his way to 
Rome and rested seven days! The place 
where he landed was called Puteoli, an 
easy drive from the present landing in 
Naples. 

The Rev. Dr. Lindsay — pastor of the 
Presbyterian church of Rochester, N. Y. — 
and I were returning from this landing, 
thinking of the adverse fortune which at- 
tended Paul before his arrival there, and 
wondering why we should complain be- 
cause of seeming adversities, when, lo, 
we had an experience almost immediate- 
ly which led us to feel that in the world 



NAPLES, 



POMPEII 



we, too, should have our share of tribula- 
tions. 

We stopped at a store to purchase some 
gloves, and there met Mr. Lawmaster, Sec- 
retary of the Young Men's Christian Asso- 
ciation, of Danville, Pa., and Mrs. S. W. 
Lincoln, of New York city. They said: 
"Come with us; we are going to buy where 
they manufacture the gloves they sell/' 
Of course we went, and made astonishingly 
satisfactory bargains. On our way back to 
the ship, the doctor and I following, I was 
startled by seeing Mr. Lawmaster giving 
chase to a young man and crying, " Stop 
him; he has stolen my watch." An Italian 
woman meantime handed Dr. Lindsay the 
watch, which had fallen to the pavement, 
but Mr. Lawmaster and the thief were going 
up the street, and a more exciting race I 
never witnessed. Soon they were out of 
sight. I followed, to tell Mr. Lawmaster 
that his watch was safe, and after a long 
walk I found him surrounded by an excited 



202 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 

crowd. I inquired if he had captured the 
pickpocket. "No," he said; "I was trying 
to get the people to help me catch him, but 
no one understood. " " Come, ' ' I responded, 
"we are late now; we have your watch, 
let us go to the ship, 1 ' and we started down 
the street. 

When about forty rods from where the 
robber} 7 occurred several policemen and 
citizens surrounded us and asked an explana- 
tion. He tried to illustrate with the bar 
and piece of the gold chain which the thief 
did not carry away. A policeman took 
it from him, and said as much as "Come 
with me. 1 ' As neither of us could under- 
stand him I said to Mr. Lawmaster, "Come 
on; let's not fool over this matter any 
longer," and I hurried along. After a few 
minutes I looked around and he was not to 
be seen. Where they had spirited him, 
through some side street, we did not know. 
Dr. Lindsay and Mrs. Lincoln thought that 
the doctor should go to the ship at once 



NAPLES, POMPEII 



203 



with the watch, fearing they would hold 
that, too, as thev had the broken chain, 
and we concluded it would be wise to go to 
the ship and report to our manager, Mr. 
Clark. He said he would send proper 
parties to investigate. After I had dined 
I went into the aft dininsr room, and there, 
to my surprise, was Mr. Lawmaster sitting 
down to dinner. He told me they took 
him before two courts of justice, a mile 
apart, and went through an examination as 
tedious as it would be possible to imagine. 
It appeared that this boy had stolen three 
watches that day and escaped in each 
instance, and they were bound to make 
sure of him next time. Then they released 
Lawmaster and courteously conducted him 
to the ship. 

I would advise all my readers to visit 
Xaples, if within their power, but while 
looking at the awful sublimity and mystery 
of Vesuvius, or dazzled with the beauty of 
the bay, or frequenting its bazaars and 



204 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 

mingling in its crowded thoroughfares, to 
"beware of pickpockets." A great many 
of our party, in one way or another, had 
valuables stolen. 

We spent a few hours at Pompeii, twelve 
miles from Naples, and could not fail to be 
impressed with its awful destruction in 
9 A. D. 

Our visit had its humorous side as well 
as its tragic suggestions. From our train 
to the entrance to the excavations was 
quite a distance. Some who undertook to 
walk were soon glad to call a carriage, whose 
service could be had for "a franc for two." 
The exit, however — but we did not know 
this — was only about fifty yards from the 
railroad station. The accommodating car- 
riages were there waiting to carry us to the 
depot for "only a franc for two," and 
many, remembering that tiresome walk, 
gladly yielded to the solicitations of the 
drivers and took seats in the never-more- 
welcome conveyances. In a half minute 



NAPLES, POMPEII 205 

more they reached the end of their ride, 
and the drivers demanded the franc or half 
franc, as the case might be. Then the fun 
began. Most of those so egregiously " taken 
in" submitted serenely and laughingly; 
but there were a few notable and amusing 
exceptions. 



200 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 



CHAPTER XXI 
Rome 

According to accepted traditions Rome 
was founded two thousand six hundred 
and fifty-seven years ago: B. C. 753. Time 
in all its flight has never produced a more 
interesting city. To write the history of 
Rome as it should be written would be to 
write the history of the world, or at least 
the world's civilization. 

When I reached it, half an hour before 
midnight, April 30, after a railway journey 
of 162 miles from Naples, it seemed like 
touching the hub of the world. In my 
fondest dreams it never occurred to me that 
I would ever visit Rome; and here I was, 
with my feet on its pavement and all around 
me the material evidences that this was 
indeed Rome. The old legend of the suck- 
ling of Romulus and Remus by a she wolf, 



Rome. — Ruins of Temple. The Pantheon. 



ROME 



209 



and how Remus was killed and the city 
came to be named after Romulus, came 
before my mind, and quick imagination 
pictured the successive events by which 
the mysterious, the mythological, the weird, 
the tragical, the surpassingly strange, had 
concreted into what we all accepted as 
history in its highest and most thrilling 
form. 

However much of the history of Rome 
may be fact or fiction it is such a blending 
of both that the conviction is forced upon 
you that in Rome you are at the center of 
the world's greatest mystery. If the sea 
be the womb of mystery the city of Rome 
is the father of mystery; and you can no 
more explain. how T and why it is than you 
can explain the creations of Aladdin's 
wonderful lamp. If you can tell me how 
that lamp did those marvelous things as- 
cribed to it, then, and only then, can you 
tell me how Rome came to be, and still is, 
the theater of events transcendently beyond 

14 



210 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 

those of any other city on earth. For ex- 
ample, consider but one of its stupendous 
facts: St. Peter's and the Vatican, for they 
are one. How do you explain them? 
From my boyhood I had heard that St. 
Peter's was the largest church in the world; 
I also heard of the vastness of the Vatican ; 
but never until one has seen both can he 
have the faintest conception that what 
seems " like stuff that dreams are made of," 
is an appalling reality; and I leave you to 
explain it if you can. "A religious senti- 
ment," you say, " carried to the highest 
extreme." Is that an answer? In other 
cities, say Athens, Constantinople, Alexan- 
dria, Jerusalem, religious sentiment has 
sought to express itself in the highest art, 
but not one of them has produced a St. 
Peter's, or a Vatican, with their treasures 
of art. Do you insist that I shall give my 
answer to account for the supreme in these 
creations? There is only one answer: God, 
Michael Angelo, and Raphael! When you 



ROME 



213 



have seen St. Peter's, and then Michael 
Angelo's "Creation" and "The Last Judg- 
ment" in the " Sistine Chapel" and Raph- 
ael's ''The Transfiguration, " you understand 
that God gave the world these two men to 
produce, for all time, the most perfect 
models of art in marble and on canvas that 
can be wrought by the genius of man. The 
story of their lives is only another name for 
God speaking in human history. When 
the Almighty Creator made the world he 
said, "Let there be light," and there was 
light. So when men for the centuries had 
been groping for the perfection of art in 
marble and on canvas the same Almighty 
Creator said, " Let there be Michael Angelo 
and Raphael;" and when these two men 
came into the world St. Peter's, "The 
Creation," "The Last Judgment," and "The 
Transfiguration" came with the^n. 

Have you heard how Angelo came to 
paint those masterpieces in the "Sistine 
Chapel"? The pope had given him the 



214 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 

order to make the design for his tomb. His 
rivals heard of it, and so influenced the 
pope that he rescinded the order and gave 
him instead the order to paint something 
appropriate for that chapel. He was old, 
and past the time when he might expect to 
achieve anything remarkable, but he ac- 
cepted his task and toiled on the ideal of 
his life for nearly two years ; and the result 
was an eternal rebuke to his rivals, filling 
them with chagrin and shame. They had 
unwittingly given him the supreme oppor- 
tunity of winning deathless fame. It is 
always so. No combination, no conspiracy 
against God and genius can succeed. Then 
as now, God has those in derision who seek 
to circumvent his plans. 

There is far more in Rome than St. 
Peter's and the Vatican. On St. Bartholo- 
mew Street, a block away from the Tiber 
and parallel with it, is part of the residence 
where " Paul dwelt two whole years in his 
own hired house, and received all that came 



ROME 



215 



unto him." His living room is still pointed 
out. It is in the second story, and from 
the room under it charcoal is sold, and the 
room next to that is a bakery and con- 
fectionery store. In company with Dr. 
Clark, president of the Methodist College 
in Rome, who gave an afternoon to me, I 
visited this most interesting monument. 
Dr. Clark said that the proofs were un- 
questionable that this was the very house, 
with five or six pillars and the rooms I have 
mentioned remaining in good preservation. 

From there we drove to the church of St. 
Prisca, standing on the site of the house of 
Aquila and Priscilla where Paul must often 
have been a welcome guest. In the rear of 
this old church we saw the excavations 
John Wanamaker is making to bring this 
home to the light of day. Several feet 
below the surface we saw a stairway, a room, 
and two walls which must have been a part 
of the house of these helpers whom Paul 
mentions by name in his epistles to the 



216 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 

Romans and the Corinthians. They, like 
Paul, were tentmakers. 

Our driver, who had been a soldier under 
Garibaldi, took great pride in pointing out 
the magnificent equestrian statue of his 
hero, whose name indeed is revered in Rome 
as the name of Washington is revered in 
America. He showed us the place where 
so many were executed by order of Pope 
Pius IX before the pope's temporal power 
was taken away. No longer, thanks to Gari- 
baldi and Victor Emanuel, does the papacy 
bear temporal rule in Rome or Italy. 

The doctor conducted me to St. Paul's 
Church, outside the old city wall, on the 
Ostian road, where there seems to be some 
evidence that Paul was buried. Constan- 
tine had the tomb covered with a marble 
slab whereon was engraved the simple epi- 
taph, " St. Paul — Apostle — Martyr." The 
marble altar which incloses this tomb is 
most exquisitely beautiful, built at fabulous 
cost. I did not get the dimensions of the 



ROME 



217 



church, but it is very large, and its nave, 
with from thirty to fifty columns, is cer- 
tainly the most beautiful I have ever seen. 
In the judgment of Dr. Clark — a man 
of wide travel and fine scholarship — this 
church is the finest structure of its kind. He 
says that the Mosque of St. Sophia, Con- 
stantinople; the Mosque of Damascus; the 
Mosque of Omar, Jerusalem ; and even St. 
Peter's at Rome, all come short of it in rich- 
ness of architecture and adornment. Many 
features of the temple have been secured 
at a price which would stagger any other 
power than the papacy. 

A short drive from St. Paul's is the place, 
with a humble shrine, where Paul was 
executed. We saw the St. Sebastian cata- 
combs, and on our return, to note the con- 
trast, we compared the manner of burial 
in the catacombs with the methods of de- 
positing the ashes of the dead in the colum- 
baria, where the receptacles, urns or jugs, 
containing the ashes of those who had been 



218 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 

cremated, had been given their appropriate 
place and marked for future identification. 
What a story these catacombs and colum- 
baria could tell were they to reveal their 
secrets! How many in martyrdom have 
gone down into silence and darkness! Not 
until the judgment books unfold will it 
be revealed what these, imprisoned in these 
receptacles for the dead above and below 
ground, suffered for conscience' sake. 

We also visited the church built on the 
spot which tradition avers is the place 
where Peter, fleeing from Rome, met Christ 
and said, "Master, whither goest thou?" 
" I am going to Rome, to be crucified 
again," was the Master's rebuking answer. 
"Then," said Peter, "I will go with thee," 
and he turned, face about, to suffer martyr- 
dom. I write this knowing quite well that 
we have no valid evidence that St. Peter 
ever was in Rome ; but when tradition runs 
wild, as it does in Rome, after a few years 
legend becomes history, and the guides 



ROME 



219 



talk of fables with as much seriousness as 
if they were the most solemn truths. But 
there are great monuments enough, and the 
reader will do well to consult a good en- 
cyclopedia and read all that is to be said 
about the Coliseum, the Pantheon, the 
Forum, the Arches of Hadrian, Constan- 
tine, Titus, and others; about the Palatine 
Hill, the Appian Way, the aqueduct of 
Claudius, the church of St. John Lateran, 
the Mamertine prison, the Pincian Hill, 
Caesar's palace, and many other points of 
interest too numerous to be mentioned 
here, much less described. 

I cannot leave this enchanting topic 
without bespeaking the interest of my 
readers for our American Methodist College 
there, with its faculty of twenty teachers, 
of which Dr. Clark is president. He is ad- 
mirably fitted for that position, and his work 
received special recognition and commenda- 
tion from Hon. Seth Low, ex-president of 
Columbia College and ex-mayor of New 



220 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 

York, during his visit in February. The en- 
tire upper story of the Methodist church, 
20 Septembre Street, Rome, is applied to 
the uses of the college. It is a noble plant 
and should have a strong endowment fund. 

Eight or ten years ago, when an appeal 
was made to help our church in Rome, I 
gave my humble offering, little thinking I 
should live to see Rev. Serafino Bernatto, 
our Italian pastor there, conducting the 
sacrament of the Lord's Supper, in which 
I was permitted to participate. I also 
met Rev. Frederick H. Wright, pastor of our 
American Church and likewise presiding 
elder of the Florence District. The post 
office address of President N. W. Clark, 
D.D., or either of the pastors named, is 
38 Via Firenze, Rome, Italy. Our pub- 
lishing house in Rome is doing a grand work 
in sending out books such as are stimula- 
ting Christians in America to a better ex- 
perience and larger philanthropy. 

I regret to leave Rome with so much un- 



ROME 



221 



said. It must ever be a city of profound 
interest to the student, the artist, the 
religious devotee, the historian, the states- 
man, and, above all, to one who is inter- 
ested in humanity. In many ways Rome, 
on her seven hills, is still mistress of the 
world. Her art will still be the inspiration 
of all who love the beautiful in form and 
color. Her Apollo Belvidere will still be 
the perfection of all that represents the 
divine likeness of man to his Creator; her 
Angelo's Moses the best reproduction of 
that meekest of men; her Raphael's Hercu- 
les the only perfect imitation, in marble, of 
the mighty physical strength of the god of 
muscular force, her sweet-faced Venus the 
matchless expression of woman in her love- 
liness and purity ; and, lastly, all that is beau- 
tiful in the worship of Rome will be divorced 
from all that is absurd, and superstitious, 
and opposed to reason and good judgment, 
and there will be a transfigured Rome with 
the true spirituality and glory of Jesus Christ. 



222 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 



CHAPTER XXII 

The Lands Which Gave Us the Book 

It were well worth while to study the 
lands which produced the men and women 
whose names are written in the Bible, and 
who by their words and deeds gave to the 
world the Holy Scriptures. They lived 
and wrought in many lands, and the record 
of what they said and did we call the Bible. 
In the present day there is greater interest 
than ever before in the study of biography, 
and particularly in connection with the 
localities and environments which may have 
influenced important careers. If it be 
said that seven cities contended strenu- 
ously for the honor of having been the 
birthplace of Homer, it must also be said 
that those lands which gave us the great 
characters of the Bible will possess an in- 
creasing interest to the student, the histo- 



LANDS WHICH GAVE THE BOOK 223 



rian, and indeed, to all mankind, with the 
flight of time. Considering, for example, 
Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, 
Joseph, Moses, Joshua, Ruth, Samuel, Eli- 
jah, Elisha, David, Solomon, Job, Nehe- 
miah, Ezra, Esther, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezek- 
iel, Daniel, Joel, Jonah, and Malachi of the 
Old Testament; the four evangelists — Mat- 
thew, Mark, Luke, John — and Peter, Paul, 
Timothy, and others of the New Testament, 
curiosity, in each case, demands all pos- 
sible information about the countries where 
they were born, where they began those 
careers w r hich have contributed so greatly 
to the making of history. Not alone Pales- 
tine, but Egypt, and other lands which 
have a place in the Bible records, possess a 
fascination to all who love and study the 
Book of books. 

There must be something about these 
lands to have produced such characters and 
to have made such history. Did Egypt 
have anything to do with the making of 



224 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 

Moses, around whom gathered so many 
wonderful events and from whose teachings 
there went forth streams of influence which 
have broadened into mighty rivers — yea, 
boundless oceans? Do we ask for mar- 
velous signs and wonders? Moses himself 
and the things he wrought are our answer. 
Do we seek for the sources of jurisprudence 
for all men and for all time? They are 
found in the law of Moses which to this day 
is the foundation of all just and righteous 
law. Did Egypt have anything to do with 
the making of "this man Moses"? The 
soil, the climate, the court of Pharaoh, the 
superior educational advantages by which 
"he was brought up in all the learning of 
the Egyptians" — all thesehad their influence 
in the formation of character and the un- 
folding of mental and physical qualities 
which fitted him for the part he was chosen 
to act in the great drama of history. There 
was that in the culture, the antiquities, the 
charm of Egypt which gave him a well- 



LANDS WHICH GAVE THE BOOK 225 

rounded development into one of the no- 
blest men of all the centuries. Is it any won- 
der that he should come to such greatness 
of character that his name has come to be 
immortalized both in time and in eternity: 
for is not his name forever associated in the 
songs of the redeemed, when all the glorified 
hosts shall sing throughout eternity the 
song of Moses and the Lamb? 

Take David as another illustration of the 
influence of the land in the formation of 
character. It was his good fortune to be 
born in Bethlehem, among the hills and 
mountains; and his occupation as a shep- 
herd gave him the preparation to be soldier, 
statesman, king, and poet. Had it not been 
for this he would not have been chosen 
king, nor would he ever have written the 
Twenty-third Psalm. That psalm alone 
would have immortalized him, but all the 
psalms are responses to the deep experiences 
of our natures and voice those experiences 
through all the phases of our lives. He 

15 



22Q THE BOOK AND THE LAND 

sang of the mountains, the seas, the stars, 
and all the diversifications of nature, and 
through nature he led us up to nature's 
God. In all time men will thank God that 
the "sweet singer of Israel" had his birth 
and home in Palestine. 

I will speak of one more — the equal of 
either I have named, and in many respects 
the greatest of the three— the apostle Paul. 
He, too, like Moses, had the advantage of 
"much learning," and, like David, he had 
the instruction and environment of nature. 
He lived in cities much, but in deserts 
and mountains too, and his training and 
surroundings were fitted to make him ver- 
satile, and broad, strong, and symmetrical; 
and when God called him to be the 
chosen vessel to carry the Gospel to the 
Gentiles he was called because he had the 
preparation, above all other men of his 
time, for the apostleship. "The survival 
of the fittest" is but another term for "the 
selection of the fittest." God makes no 



LANDS WHICH GAVE THE BOOK 227 



mistakes. He makes no misfits. Men 
make them ; God never. His ways are not 
our ways, nor his thoughts our thoughts. 
They are high above us, lk as the heavens 
are higher than the earth." However it 
came to pass that the lands we visited in 
the Mediterranean cruise were the theaters 
for the men and women of the Bible to 
work out the problems which gave us the 
Bible, it must be accepted as in the plan of 
the Almighty that the}' should be the lands 
to produce the men and events which made 
the Book inevitable. Man Avas fallen, and 
needed the discipline, the teaching, the 
trial Avhich, in the fullness of time, were to 
culminate in the one "unspeakable gift" 
through which the human race was to be 
redeemed, advanced to higher and higher 
conditions, until the better, glorified hu- 
manity should be "bound by gold chains 
about the feet of God." 



228 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 



CHAPTER XXIII 

The Book is to Redeem the Land 

The one overshadowing, appalling fact 
in all the lands visited in our cruise is 
that they are anti-Bible lands. Palestine 
and Egypt, like Constantinople, are under 
Mohammedan control. Rome, Naples — all 
Italy acknowledges the ecclesiastical sover- 
eignty of the papacy. Madeira, too, is 
under the same rule. While Athens, Cor- 
inth, etc., are under the rule of the Greek 
Church, it is conceded that they, like the 
cities and countries I have named, are 
opposed to the circulation of the Bible. 
In many places the opposition is bitter and 
strong. It is therefore truthful to declare 
that these are anti- Bible lands. Every- 
where I went I was constantly asking my- 
self the question, Can this prejudice, this 
opposition to the Bible, be overcome? It 



BOOK TO REDEEM THE LAND 229 



seems the strangest of reverses of history 
that Jerusalem, "the city of the great 
King," should be in the hands of the 
Moslems. Even the site of Solomon's Tem- 
ple, whose glory filled the earth, is now the 
site of the Mosque of Omar, without the 
least recognition of Jesus Christ. The 
Bible-loving churches of Jerusalem are 
pitifully weak compared with the powerful 
mosques and Roman Catholic churches, as 
all who have observed know. So it is in 
Rome, Cairo, Constantinople, and through- 
out all the lands touched by our cruise. 
So over and over arises the question, Can 
these cities and countries be redeemed, 
Christianized? From all that I have seen, 
from all that I know, I answer, with all the 
enthusiasm of my nature, Yes. I was never 
more optimistic than while I write this 
chapter. 

It is Tuesday, May 10, 1904, four o'clock 
in the afternoon. I am seated at a table 
in the writing room of the Grosser Kur- 



230 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 

furst. The sky is like an Italian sky. 
There is not a cloud to be seen. The great 
Atlantic Ocean seems like a sea of molten 
glass; and our good ship glides over its 
smooth waters like a thing of life and joy. 
The prow of our vessel is turned toward 
America, the home of liberty, equality, and 
enfranchisement; the land where woman 
is recognized as the equal of man, and 
respected and loved for her worth and 
sacred influence in the home and in society ; 
the land where every person may worship 
God according to the dictates of his own 
conscience, and, in the best and widest 
sense of that word, man is free. 

O America, latest born from the womb 
of nations, why did Columbus discover 
thee, and Washington impress thee with 
the loftiest ideals of religion, law, and gov- 
ernment, and why did thy Sabbath-honor- 
ing sister, Canada, skirting thy northern 
boundaries, join hands with thee in a death- 
less purpose to extend the teachings of God 's 



BOOK TO REDEEM THE LAND 231 



own word unto the uttermost parts of the 
earth? And why is this "the purpose that 
is purposed on the face of the whole earth ' ' ? 
And why has the decree gone forth that 
"the earth shall be full of the knowledge 
of the Lord as the waters cover the sea"? 
Christian North America and England are 
to be God's agents to give the word of God 
to all lands. Their great Bible Societies, 
American and British, have only just begun 
their divinely appointed work of placing 
a copy of the Holy Scriptures in every 
family. In the lands we visited these 
societies are putting forth especial efforts 
to distribute the Bible. As the pope gave 
permission for the four gospels and the 
Acts to be printed in the Italian language, 
without comment, more than a million 
copies of this part of the New Testament 
have been printed and distributed in Italy. 
The missions in all these lands are active and 
successful ; the schools and colleges doing so 
much for education, particularly Bible study, 



232 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 

are constantly increasing their clientage, 
influence, and prestige in Madeira, Gibraltar, 
Algiers, Athens, Constantinople, Smyrna, 
Beirut, Haifa, Jerusalem, Alexandria, Cairo, 
Naples, and Rome. The delegates on this 
cruise of the Grosser Kurjilrst have given, 
since we left New York, about five thousand 
dollars toward these missions and schools, 
because we have seen with our own eyes the 
results achieved in these lands; and I pre- 
dict that every one of the more than eight 
hundred delegates will, from this time for- 
ward, be more active than ever in the cause 
of Christian missions. Think of what this 
army of pastors, Sunday school teachers, 
and business men will be able to accomplish 
in home and foreign lands! Not only are 
they able to accomplish much, but they 
will surely "perform the doing of it." 

As illustrative of many cases of what is 
being done I may say that in one town, 
visited by the overland party, our delegates 
saw a class of fifty Arab girls under the 



BOOK TO REDEEM THE LAND "233 



instruction of a young lady from America 
who is giving her life to the training of 
children in the knowledge of the New Tes- 
tament. The children told their visitors 
that "Jesus Christ was the only one who 
could forgive sins; that he had been cruci- 
fied; that he rose from the grave, ascended 
to heaven, and is coming again to receive 
to himself those Avho love him." Such is 
the teaching of the children and young peo- 
ple of the far East, whether in humble mis- 
sion schools or the colleges. The Woman's 
Home and Foreign Missionary Societies 
are actively working and constantly estab- 
lishing their auxiliaries. The Protestant 
Churches are steadily gaining favor with 
the masses, and "the common people" 
hear them "orladlv." The Lord is sending 
out his word, and great is the company of 
them who publish it. 

Xot the least among the factors by which 
these lands are to be redeemed is the grow- 
ing indifference of the masses to the strict 



234 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 

rules of their religion. We saw this in 
Constantinople, in Jerusalem, Naples, Cairo, 
and Rome. In none of these cities did we 
see that blind devotion to the fanatical, 
superstitious requirements of the prevail- 
ing faiths that we expected to see. For 
example, we had been led to look for the 
Moslem to suspend work when the call for 
prayer shall be sounded from the minarets. 
Not once, in Constantinople, Damascus, or 
in Jerusalem, did I see a man stopping in 
his toil to worship. This surely indicates 
that the disciples of Mohammed are slowly 
but surely losing interest in the observances 
of their religion. Another factor is the 
transforming power of steam and electric- 
ity. Both are in these lands. The rail- 
way, the steamship, the telegraph, and the 
telephone are there to stay. Commerce is 
the handmaiden of religion and must be 
reckoned with in the forces at work chang- 
ing the old order into the new. " Many are 
running to and fro, and knowledge is being 



BOOK TO REDEEM THE LAND 235 



increased." Those people, bright, imita- 
tive, observing as they are, see those who 
visit them from America and other Chris- 
tian lands — the scholars, teachers, Chris- 
tian ministers, bankers, merchants, physi- 
cians, lawyers, and men of affairs; the 
refined women, neatly dressed, cultured, 
and the equals of their husbands in social 
and intellectual life and in all Christian 
activities — and they must conclude that 
the Bible-loving lands ha\ T e a larger free- 
dom, a higher civilization, than the anti- 
Bible lands, and they are becoming restless 
under the yoke which has galled and chafed 
them so long and so bitterly. 

These, and the influence of the Universal 
Postal Union and the Associated Press, are 
surely producing the inevitable result — the 
redemption of all these lands. 

But better than these things is the irref- 
ragable decree of Almighty God. His will 
and power will bring it to pass. " The 
mouth of the Lord hath spoken it." " It 



236 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 

shall surely come to pass; not one jot or 
tittle of God's word shall fail until all be 
fulfilled." "The mountain of the Lord's 
house shall be established in the top of the 
mountains and shall be exalted above the 
hills; and all nations shall flow unto it." 
" He shall have dominion also from sea to 
sea, and from the river unto the ends of 
the earth. ... He shall spare the poor 
and needy, and shall save the souls of the 
needy. He shall redeem their soul from 
deceit and violence : and precious shall their 
blood be in his sight. And he shall live, 
and to him shall be given of the gold of 
Sheba: prayer also shall be made for him 
continually; and daily shall he be praised. 
There shall be an handful of corn in the 
earth upon the top of the mountains ; the 
fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon: and 
they of the city shall flourish like grass of the 
earth. His name shall endure forever; his 
name shall be continued as long as the sun ; 
and men shall be blessed in him : all nations 



BOOK TO REDEEM THE LAND 23? 



shall call him blessed. Blessed be the 
Lord God, the God of Israel, who only doeth 
wondrous things. And blessed be his glo- 
rious name forever: and let the whole earth 
be filled with his glory. Amen, and Amen. 

Do the Christian men and women of the 
United States and the British Empire read 
"the signs of the times ,, ? Do they "hear 
the sound of the going in the tops of the 
mulberry trees"? Can they not see that 
the time of the fullness of the Gentiles has 
come — the long-promised and expected time 
when the Jews are to be restored to Pales- 
tine, when the curse which has rested on 
them so many centuries is to be removed, 
and once more they shall be great in the 
sight of the Gentile world, and all that God 
has said concerning the restoration of this 
long afflicted people shall be fulfilled and 
Zion shall be a crown of glorv in the 
hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in 
the hand of her God? She shall no more 
be termed Forsaken ; neither shall her land 



238 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 

any more be termed Desolate; but she 
shall be called Hephzibah and Beulah — 
the delight of the Lord forever ! ' ' Let your 
prayers for this rise like a fountain night 
and day;" make broad plans for this; give 
your money for this; form a league of in- 
creasing cooperation with all, of whatever 
name or denomination, who will work and 
believe for this, and be assured that your 
labors shall not be in vain in the Lord. 
The time of the redemption of these lands 
to Jesus Christ is at hand. The travail of 
his soul is soon to be satisfied, and we, and 
all the hosts of the redeemed, shall unite 
in the coronation shout: 

"All hail the power of Jesus' name! 
Let angels prostrate fall; 
Bring forth the royal diadem, 
And crown him Lord of all. 

"Let every kindred, every tribe, 
On this terrestrial ball, 
To him all ma jest) 7 ascribe, 
And crown him Lord of all." 



HOMEWARD TRIP 



239 



CHAPTER XXIV 
Homeward Trip 

At Villefranche about two hundred and 
fifty of our delegates left the Grosser Kur- 
jurst to go across Europe, and the remain- 
ing passengers returned to New York. As 
my missionary stateroom mates left me I 
was not a little anxious to know who would 
become my companion. Fortunately Mr. 
J. A. Stevenson, of London, Canada, con- 
sented to "chum" with me to the end of 
the voyage, and I found him all right, not 
only as a table companion but as a state- 
room mate. You never know people until 
you live with them, and I found that all 
my opinions of him expressed in a pre- 
vious chapter were more than justified. 
He is a born traveler, knows human nature 
to a dot, and is withal a sturdy Christian. 

Another gentleman whom I found very 



240 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 

companionable was the Rev. B. H. Cady, 
of Warren, R. I, Not much my senior, I 
found him very congenial, and that, like 
myself, he had had years of experience in 
the Methodist itineracy. Years ago, when 
he had reached the one-thousand-dollar 
grade in his Conference, it came to pass 
through one of those accidents which some- 
times occur at an Annual Conference — even 
Methodist bishops and presiding elders are 
not infallible — that by some unintentional 
inadvertence he was read off for a charge 
where the salary was too small for a pastor 
with a family. His presiding elder said to 
him after Conference that the mistake 
should be made right, and wrote to the 
principal official of this charge that Rev. 
Mr. Cady had been sent to them by mistake, 
and they could not expect to keep him. 
But my friend Cady went to work like 
a true itinerant Methodist preacher. He 
"put up" at the home of the official to 
whom the presiding elder had written. At 



HOMEWARD TRIP 



241 



the first Sunday morning service just fifty 
people were in the congregation. Mr. Cady 
expressed surprise at so small an audience, 
to which his host replied, "This is much 
larger than usual." " How large a congre- 
gation could you get here provided the 
people would turn out ? ' ' said Mr. C. " More 
than enough to fill three such churches," 
answered his host. "Then 111 move my 
goods this week," said Mr. C. To cut a 
long story short, he soon had the church 
packed. A worthy Quaker heard that the 
salary would be about half what he had 
received on his former charge and said to 
the officials, " Pay Mr. Cady what you can, 
and I'll make the balance up to a thousand 
dollars." That year he received one thou- 
sand dollars and house ; the next year twelve 
hundred dollars and house, and the third 
year his support, with the parsonage, was 
fifteen hundred dollars. The membership 
had more than doubled. 

To crown all with a beautiful romance, 

16 



242 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 



his son married the rich Quaker's daughter, 
and the daughter-in-law paid Mr. Cady's 
expenses for the Mediterranean cruise. 

I found also another congenial friend in 
Rev. G. W. Banks, of Memphis, Tenn., a 
popular pastor of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church, South. He is a leading spirit in 
the councils of that denomination — a fine 
preacher, a most genial gentleman. 

I also became greatly interested in the 
Rev. Milton F. Negus, Baptist, Philadel- 
phia; the Rev. Wallace Nutting, D.D., 
Congregational, Providence, R. I. ; the 
Rev. Peter Lindsay, D.D., Presbyterian, 
Rochester, N. Y. ; the Rev. David H. King, 
D.D., Presbyterian, of Vineland, N. J.; 
the Rev. L. M. Flocken and the Rev. E. F. 
Studley, Methodist pastors of New Bedford, 
Mass.; the Rev. F. H. Mullineux, Methodist 
Protestant, Kent Island, Md, ; the Rev. 
F. N. Lynch, A.M., Methodist Episcopal, 
Wichita, Kan. ; the Rev. William Frizzell, 
Ph.B., of Toronto, Ontario; the Rev. Dr. 



HOMEWARD TRIP 



243 



J. W. Millard, of Baltimore, Md.; the Rev. 
Messrs. Brooks and Parrish, colored, whom 
T have already mentioned; the Rev. D. C. 
Ridgewayj D.D., Kearney. Neb.; Rev. Dr. 

E. E. McKay, Ottawa, 111., and many 
others, ministers and laymen, whom I would 
like to mention. 

The last Sunday morning sermon of the 
cruise was by the Rev. Hugh K. Walker, 
D.D., pastor of the Presbyterian church 
of Los Angeles. That, and the sermon of 
Dr. Potts on Mars' Hill, and Dr. Watkinson's 
sermon at Cairo were conceded to be the 
best three. In point of oratory. Dr. Potts 
stood first ; in point of thought and origin- 
ality. Dr. Watkinson ; in point of heart and 
spirituality, Dr. Walker. All three would 
rank as great sermons, well worthy of the 
preachers and their audiences. Marion 
Lawrence was easily the standard authority 
in Sunday school matters. Dr. George 

F. Bailey, of Philadelphia, was elected 
president of the World's Fifth Sunday 



244 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 

School Convention Central Executive Com- 
mittee, to succeed Hon. E. K. Warren — 
though it will be very difficult for him or 
any other man to take E. K. Warren's 
place for broadness and versatility. For 
such a position Mr. Warren is admirably 
qualified, harmonizing all the eccentric, 
heterogeneous elements collected in a body 
of eight hundred and more people. He 
has the wisdom and poise necessary, with 
ready tact. Next to Mr. Warren, Mr. 
Bailey is the man for the place. 

From Villefranche to New York, by our 
course, was four thousand miles. We did 
not make a stop in all that distance, sailing 
from midnight, May 7, until our arrival in 
New York, 10 a. m., May 19. 

I will not speak of the lectures, concerts, 
entertainments, etc., on the way; but like 
all similar methods of passing the time at 
sea, they were, as usual, the best. During 
our whole cruise of seventy-two days the 
weather was exceptionally fine. No at 



HOMEWARD TRIP 



245 



single shake-up. The waves were so quiet 
they scarcely broke the monotony of calm. 
Once, when they were about ten feet high, 
one of our passengers thought the sea was 
"dreadful," and wouldn't wonder if the 
ship might go down. He evidently never 
had " sailed the seas." But we had a little 
experience after passing the Azores and 
Flores Islands. The fog settled on the 
ocean, and for the last two days of the 
voyage the fog horn sounded nearly every 
minute. When it began to sound, about 
nine o'clock Tuesday evening, my room 
steward said to me, " We dread the fog more 
than everything else. Tornadoes, hurri- 
canes are nothing. In the dense fog we 
never know when another ship may strike 
us or we run into another vessel. I have 
been in five collisions. In one of them 
eleven were killed, and I came near perish- 
ing in one or two wrecks. You never know 
by the fog horn of another ship where it is. 
It may sound far off when the ship is right 



240 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 

on you. We sailors are all afraid of the 
fog." 

You can imagine our feelings, hearing the 
sound of that fog horn seven seconds of 
every minute. That night, after it began, 
about midnight a terrific electric storm, 
without wind, came on us. The lightning 
and thunder at times were dreadful. To 
add to the terror we heard the fog horn of 
another ship, and then we threw up rockets 
and fired cannon until the danger was 
passed. I think all on our ship thought of 
Paul and his companions near Malta, when 
they "longed for the day." We all felt 
that we had been too highly favored in the 
cruise, that the weather had been too fine, 
and we needed a little experience of the 
perils of the sea. But, thank God, the fog 
lifted at last, and when we went up the 
harbor toward New York the sun was shin- 
ing, the band was playing, and we welcomed 
the customs officers as the "nicest men' 7 
we ever saw. They had us all ready to go 



HOMEWARD TRIP 



247 



ashore on reaching our slip in the Hoboken 
pier. 

When we saw Captain Reimkasten wave 
his happy valedictory we all gave him a 
rousing cheer, thanking God for such a 
captain, such a crew, such a magnificent 
ship, and such a magnificent cruise of 
seventy-two days. Most of all did our 
hearts burn with gratitude to Him who 
" rules the waves" and who had brought 
us all in safety to our "desired haven " 

The following lines were written by the 
Rev. David H. King, D.D., pastor of the 
Presbyterian church of Vineland, on the 
Atlantic Ocean when returning from the 
cruise to the Holy Land, where he at- 
tended the World's Fourth Sunday School 
Convention. The song was set to music 
by Professor E. S. Lorenz, of Dayton, O., 
and sung by a male quartet on board the 
Grosser Kurfurst the evening before arriv- 
ing in New York harbor. 



248 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 



Homeward Bound 

" Homeward bound! Homeward bound! 
The heart with rapture thrills 
As we approach our native land, 
Our fair Columbian hills. 

" Homeward bound! Homeward bound! 
Bright hopes fill every breast; 
We soon shall join our friends again, 
And from our voyage rest. 

il Homeward bound! Homeward bound! 
The story we'll repeat 
Of all we saw in sacred lands, 
Trod by the Master's feet. 

" Homeward bound! Homeward bound! 
We sail the Sea of Time ; 
We soon shall reach our Home above, 
In that celestial clime. 

" ' Home at last! Home at last! ' 
Will be our joyful song 
When we shall meet our blessed Christ 
And all that heavenly throng." 



CONCLUSION 



249 



CHAPTER XXV 

The Conclusion of the Whole Matter 

In writing The Book and the Land I have 
had two prominent motives: to contribute 
facts and ideas which would increase inter- 
est in and love for the Book of books, and 
to inspire in the minds of my readers a 
strong desire to visit the Orient. Thou- 
sands who might visit the Holy Land fail 
to do so because they do not understand 
that it is quite practicable to go if they 
will. The distance to be traveled and 
the expense of the trip loom large and seem 
insurmountable obstacles. But in this age 
there is nothing impossible to any man or 
woman who desires and purposes its ac- 
complishment. " All things are possible to 
him that belie veth." You will generally 
find, like Christian in the Pilgrim's Progress, 
that the threatening lions in your path are 



250 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 

chained and harmless. Let me say to you, my 
friendly reader, that you can scarcely afford 
to miss a trip to the lands I visited. It is 
your duty to inform yourself; to broaden 
your horizon, your scope of vision. To 
know what you ought to know, to be what 
you ought to be, you must travel; you must 
know the world ; you must not be a stay-at- 
home ; you must not be all the time looking 
on your own things. Look on the things of 
others. Shakespeare says, " Home-keeping 
youths have ever homely wits," and never 
did he say a truer thing. Wise parents 
include travel in the education of their sons 
and daughters, and the children should 
make plans to see all that they can see in 
this wonderful world. Let them save their 
money with this object in view. One of 
our fellow-travelers on the Grosser Kur- 
furst had been planning for years to take 
the trip he was then enjoying. He joined 
our party at Constantinople after most 
interesting journey ings through India and 



CONCLUSION 



251 



Egypt, etc., and went with us to Jerusalem, 
intending to cross Europe before returning 
to his home in St. Louis. All his plans for 
extensive sight-seeing were made with the 
one motive of broadening his mental powers 
for greater usefulness in his home, church, 
and city. His young son, who accompa- 
nied him, had his father's love of travel and 
was being taught by precept and example 
to take intelligent note of everything of 
interest. 

Determine to see and know the world. 
The only way to know the world is to see 
it, and the present facilities for travel offer 
every opportunity of reaching even " earth's 
remotest bound." What are you toiling 
for? Why are you saving money? To 
buy another farm? to add to your mortgage 
or bank account ? Of what avail will it all 
be if you only come to have a plethoric 
exchequer and a lean intellect ? Isn't your 
mind your best capital? Isn't it worth 
your while to drop the mad pursuit of 



252 THE BOOK AND THE LAND 



wealth or pleasure and fit yourself, by 
travel and observation, to better act your 
part in life's drama — so soon to be ended? 
My friend, I beg you to think that those 
great men, those mighty characters who 
gave us the Book and immortalized the 
lands of the Book, reached their power by 
travel, by observing and studying men and 
institutions in different cities and coun- 
tries of the then known world, and thus 
increasing their stock of knowledge, and 
brightened by friction, contributed to the 
welfare of mankind. 

Well does Tennyson say: 

"We sleep and wake and sleep, but all things move: 
The Sun flies forward to his brother Sun ; 
The dark Earth follows, wheeled in her ellipse: 
And human things returning on themselves 
Move onward, leading up the golden year. 

"Ah tho' the times when some new thought can bud 
Are but as poet's seasons when they flower, 
Yet seas, that daily gain upon the shore 
Have ebb and flow conditioning their march, 
And slow and sure comes up the golden year 



CONCLUSION 



253 



"When wealth no more shall rest in mounded heaps, 
But smit with freer light shall slowly melt 
In many streams to fatten lower lands, 
And light shall spread, and man be liker man 
Through all the season of the golden year." 



The End. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




